


A Spring Flowering

by Crazyeight



Series: Digital Love [2]
Category: Digimon, Digimon Tamers
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Relationship(s), Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Humor, Smut, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-11-02 12:19:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10944384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyeight/pseuds/Crazyeight
Summary: Sequel to 'A Hot Summers Day.' Their bakery rebuilt, Takato and his family are moving out of Rika's home. With the departure, Takato and Rika consider their futures, and how much their relationship has changed and grown while the world changes and grows around them...for better and for worse.





	1. Chapter 1

The door clicked open and Takehiro Matsuki strode in, holding the door open for his wife Mie and their son, Takato. The fresh scent of sawdust still hung in the air. Despite the many hours of cleaning that went into the building since its completion, it had yet to be scrubbed out. Mie wrinkled her nose at it, but it only made the man smile, remembering all the time and effort he helped put into rebuilding the Matsuki bakery.

Eight months since their home had been crushed by a rampaging digital life form known as a Mammothmon that one summer that now felt so long ago. The work had been long and hard, but it was all worth it in the end. They finally had their home back.

"Well?" Takehiro asked Mie, taking her by the hand and gesturing around them. "What do you think?"

"It's certainly bigger and nicer looking," Mie smiled, looking around. "It's a little empty though."

Her smile tugged at the corners of her lips, indicating that she was joking. It wouldn't be too long before they were complaining about how cramped the place was once they had new stock and furniture filling space up.

"Come on," Takehiro grinned, wrapping his arm around his wife's shoulder and giving her a gentle hug. "Let's have a look around. There's this one place that I'm sure would make a great place for our bedroom, but I want your opinion on it. If not, it'll make for a good store room and…"

As his parents continued their conversation, striding off up in the direction of the stairwell in the back that would take them to the living section of what was soon to be their new home and business, Takato panned around him, smiling warmly, excitement bubbling up inside him. While he turned, the door he and his family just came through bumped slightly as a large, crimson scaled dinosaur that came up to just chest height entered into the newly built abode, nostrils flaring as it tested the air questioningly. Takato smiled at the reptile, and patted it on the head.

"Not what you expected, eh boy?" he chuckled, to which the dinosaur – a digital life form known as Guilmon – wrinkled his nose.

"There's no bread smell," he complained. Drawing his fingers around Guilmon's long, wing-like ears, Takato scratched behind them, causing his gold-colored eyes to roll up into the back of his head in pleasure.

"We'll get that fixed soon enough," the teenager replied, looking out over the front of their soon-to-be-open store. Well, not _terribly_ soon, to be more precise. First they had to move what belongings they had that survived the destruction of their previous home into this one, and then they had to stock up on supplies for business; check in with old business contacts – again – that they had previously to make sure that all the old agreements were still in place. His eyes softened, thinking about how worried his parents were with regards to getting their business up and running again.

"Eight months," he murmured to himself, earning him a questioning look from Guilmon.

"Takato?"

"Nothing," Takato replied with a quiet shake of his head, dropping his hand away from the dinosaur's ear before flashing him a grin. "Come on. How about we go see what our new room is going to look like?"

"Sure!" Guilmon chirped, suddenly leaping around the boy and dashing in the direction of the stairs, only to pause at the first step and look over his shoulder at his best friend and partner.

"Um… Where is it again?" he asked, realizing he was simply going off the memory of the _old_ floorplan and not the new. Laughing, Takato followed after him and started up the stairs.

"Dad said it was on our first right, remember?"

"Oh, right! Because your mom wants to give you less of an excuse to be late for school, right?"

Takato blushed lightly at that. He couldn't understand his mother's fixation on that. He wasn't exactly late for school all that terribly often. Just once in a while, and usually – especially nowadays – when a digimon bio-emerged and went on a rampage. Yet, for some reason, the rare occasions became 'all the time' in his mother's mind and she needled him about it on a regular basis.

_Well, I guess she should be worried,_ he thought, scratching the side of his face as they reached the top of the floor and headed for the first room they saw to their right. _I mean, she's a mom. Moms are supposed to be worried after all._

Sliding the door open, the pair stepped inside and took a look around them. The room was bare, but Takato wasn't bothered by this. That would change over time.

_At least…I hope it will,_ he thought with a touch of worry. Making his way to the center of the room, he turned around and flopped over onto the floor, spreading his arms and legs as far as possible. The light from the sun shone down on him and he closed his eyes, relaxing as he warmed beneath its warm caress. He heard the floor creak next to him and smiled, knowing Guilmon was right there next to him. He opened his eyes and gazed up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Unfamiliar that is, for the time being.

_Come to think about it though, how much longer am I going to stay with my parents? I'm still seventeen now, but I won't be for much longer. Pretty soon, I'm going to have to think about what I'm going to do with my life._

He thought back to his various conversations with his cousin Kai and his friend Henry about his future, about whether he would inherit the bakery from his parents or do something else. Rika hadn't asked him questions like that – something he would have found a bit odd if it weren't for the fact that she wasn't sure what she wanted to do either beyond being a Tamer.

_Seventeen… Eighteen… This is a bad time to be figuring this stuff out. I mean, I have my art, and I've been doing it a lot to see about getting something published, but…is that what I really want?_

He turned his head over, and his crimson eyes met Guilmon's gold-colored ones.

_Especially with there being a whole digital world out there?_

He paused mentally, thinking still further on his future with Rika, who had taken him into her home and her heart; sharing her bed, her fears, her confidence… He could feel the roughness of puberty starting to fall away from him over the last eight months; his anxieties smoothing out a little here and there, yet… Yet he couldn't help but worry that he hadn't done enough for her and she had done so much more for him.

_What…can I do to show her how much I love her?_ he wondered. _How much she means to me? That she can depend on me to be by her side and help her when she needs me the most?_

Around and around the thoughts and worries circled in his head, only to be broken as Guilmon sniffed at him and frowned slightly.

"You smell like you're getting wound up, Takato."

"Huh?" Takato blinked and then gave a light laugh, rolling his eyes away from his partner, remembering that the dinosaur could almost always tell his moods by scent alone. "Oh, sorry. I'm just…thinking about the future, that's all. It really is full of a lot of unknowns, isn't it? Like…one giant, blank piece of paper that hasn't been scribbled on yet."

"Yeah…" Guilmon nodded. "But that's why you always do your best to make it look good, right?"

Takato furrowed his brow slightly at that before lifting himself up from off the floor.

"Sometimes…I worry that I haven't really done that," he said, folding his legs together and bringing his hands to rest on his knees. "I've been doing a lot of studying with Rika. Doing a lot of drawing to see if I can have a career in manga, but…is that enough?"

He looked up at the still-open door, his expression contemplative.

"Sometimes I feel like all I've been doing is goofing off. I think…now I realize just how fragile the future can be."

He pressed his lips together tightly, thinking about their new home.

_Will we still have this place in a year? If business can't pick up again because we've been gone for so long…_

His hands tightened together. Seeing this, Guilmon got to his feet and wandered over to the boy, bringing his chin to rest on Takato's shoulder.

"We'll find a way," he grinned, wrapping his arms around the boy awkwardly, trying to duplicate Rika's gestures of affection. "Together. Just like we always do. It's a promise."

Smiling at his partner, Takato nodded.

"We will," he agreed, though a part of him felt it was a bit hollow. The world, after all, was fickle, and sometimes not all promises could be kept.

After a moment, the call of his parents caused the two partners to stir, and getting up, they left the room and all of its future behind them.

_Until the next time,_ Takato thought, sliding the door shut on the one promise he was sure could be kept.

**###**

Rika sat at her table, eyes focused on the textbook in front of her, running through the latest reading for her history class, her pencil tapping on the notebook next to her before jotting down a note. 'Note' in a loose definition of the word, or rather, a small reference that amounted to a single word. No one else would get much out of it, but Rika had a knack for remembering things and rarely needed much more than something brief for a reminder if she ever, for some inexplicable reason, forgot something.

Things were quiet for a change, or rather, _quieter._ Takato by himself didn't make much noise, something that Rika liked about him. She hadn't given noise much thought when suggesting her home as a place to stay following the destruction of the Matsuki bakery, but things had been relatively peaceful, with the sole exception of Guilmon, who was a rambunctious bundle of energy.

Fortunately for everyone in the household, Renamon had chosen to be the recipient for that energy whenever Takato was unable to do so, which, as the months advanced and his school workload increased, became more and more the norm.

_People are starting to talk about those two,_ Rika thought with slight amusement, turning a page and jotting down its number as another reminder. _Can't really blame them though._

A small smile touched the corners of her lips. Everyone had fun in their own way, and she wasn't about to begrudge Renamon for how she amused herself in her spare time. After all, she and Takato could hardly judge given the sort of things _they_ got up to when they had the opportunity.

Shifting in her spot, her pencil sketched out a small image of a pair of goggles – an item that her lover boy and affectionately named _Gogglehead_ hadn't worn in years. She paused upon it for a moment before her eyes flickered over to the spot across from her. Her smile slipped ever so slightly, and it was just then that she became aware of the silence in the house.

_He…really found a place in my heart…didn't he?_ she thought quietly, her hand tightening around her pencil.

Her brow furrowed slightly. _Pretty soon this place will be back to how things were before he moved in. Just me and my family._

She glanced over at her closet, wherein her futon lay. Their family had allowed them to share it together once in a while since discovering them together the first time – ironically when they were merely sharing the bed for comfort and not making love to one another. Those nights held a special place in her heart, and now…

_Those nights are over,_ she thought, returning her attention back to her notes. _Well, it's not like I didn't know today would come. I guess I just…didn't expect to feel weird about it._

Before she could pursue such thoughts and emotions, she heard the sound of the gate to her home opening and she looked up just in time to see the Matsuki's returning from their inspection of their new home. A smile drew across her face and she got up from her spot, her notes, for the moment, forgotten.

"Hey, Rika!" Takato called out, hurrying on over to the girl as she stepped out of her room.

"Hey yourself," she returned, their fingers intertwining together a split second before Takato's lips found her own, the boy moving with such suddenness that she found herself taken a bit by surprise, especially in the presence of his parents, who regarded the pair with amused – and worried on Mie's part - looks. She relaxed into the kiss quickly however, enjoying the feel of his warmth as it was offered and finding herself a bit eager to enjoy it, knowing that such opportunities were soon to be in short supply.

Briefly, as she pressed her lips back against Takato, she wondered how much money she had set aside for a visit to a Love Hotel.

_Plenty enough,_ she thought, grinning around her lover boy's kiss.

"What's so funny?" Takato laughed, drawing back and leaning his head against Rika's. Reaching up, she pressed a hand to the side of his face and gazed into his warm eyes.

"Just you," she chuckled before opting to change the subject. "So how was the new place?"

"It's nice," Guilmon chirped, approaching the couple. "There's _lots_ of room."

He paused, frowned, and tapped his chin with his claw, looking downcast.

"There's no balcony for you and Renamon to show up at."

"No balcony, huh?" Rika chuckled, moving her hand from Takato's cheek to his hair, enjoying the feel of it in her fingers. "So much for mysterious entrances."

"You'll figure something out, I bet," Takato laughed before kissing Rika's nose, causing her to blush brightly at his display of affection. It was… _cute,_ and a bit out of the ordinary for him. "You're always a mystery to me anyway, _Dream Girl."_

That caused her to raise an eyebrow.

"Sounds like _someone_ is eager to be sent to dream land for good," she said, lightly tapping her fist against the side of his head. "I still remember that promise and I can _still_ make good on it."

Takato simply smiled at her, clasping her fist with his hand and giving it a soft, loving squeeze.

"I think I'd like that."

Rika blushed _hard_ at that.

_What is_ with _him today all of a sudden?!_

Punching his shoulder with her free hand, she gave her lover a playful scowl.

_"Not_ in front of your parents," she said in a hushed, scolding voice, glancing over his shoulder and tracking them as they made their way toward the house, both _still_ eyeing them with a look of amusement and concern.

_Especially_ Mie, who tightened her hands together uncertainly.

A bright blush bloomed across Takato's face and he released Rika's hand.

"Sorry for the goose egg," he laughed sheepishly. Tapping his forehead with her knuckles, Rika turned and headed back into her room, Takato and Guilmon following after her, the former rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"You're lucky that your goose eggs are cute," she said, sitting herself back down, with Takato taking up a spot right next to her while Guilmon set up shop directly across from them.

"I try," he beamed. "How's the studying going?"

"Boring," Rika shrugged. "At this point, I know enough where I could probably test some of the teachers. The notes are just a formality for me."

Takato tilted his head to one side, his eyes taking on a thoughtful look, earning him yet _another_ raised eyebrow from the redhaired teacher.

"You're imagining me as a teacher, aren't you?"

"Is it bad if I said you'd make a very good one?" Takato smiled, blushing lightly. "Not to mention a very pretty one?"

"Minus points because Kazu said something like that already back when we went to the digital world the first time," Rika _harrumphed,_ her mood souring a little at the thought of their mutual friend and his antics toward her.

"Ohhh… Good thing you're cute, Takato," Guilmon said, and Rika turned a sharp look at the crimson dinosaur.

"Renamon?" she called out. "Shouldn't you be keeping Dino-boy occupied or something?"

The vulpine digimon materialized out of thin air next to the dinosaur just then, her expression unreadable, though an amusement glinted in her azure eyes.

"I was waiting for him to come find me if he so chose, but if you insist…"

"Huh?" Guilmon blinked. "Takato and Rika want some privacy time? But they don't smell like they want it and Takato's parents and Rika's grandma are here…"

_Oh kami…_ groaned Rika, palming her face at Guilmon and his continued naiveite.

"I'm _insisting!"_ she said behind her hand, and with a chuckle, Renamon caressed the reptile's head, tracing a claw down the side of his face and to the tip of his chin, pausing there before flicking away.

"Very well," she said, smiling down at the crimson reptile. "Let's leave them alone. I'm sure Ms. Hata would appreciate your company as well. We're having tea at the moment."

Guilmon's eyes brightened up at that. More smart-sounding conversations with Rika's grandmother? Ever since the pair first bonded, the dinosaur had become a glutton for the woman's vast expanse of wisdom, eagerly listening and drinking it all in.

With a shout of "Yaaay!" Guilmon was on his feet and scampering off, the kitsune giving the couple behind them a brief look before vanishing out of view to join him. Rika watched them go for a moment before glancing at her crimson-eyed lover boy, who was grinning.

"You know…" Takato began. "Sometimes I wonder about them."

Rika snorted and distractedly began to sort through her notes.

"That's because you're a Gogglehead. You're _supposed_ to have a hard time seeing the obvious when it's right in front of you."

"Huh?" Takato's eyebrows rose at that. "What does that mean?"

"Case in point," Rika smirked at his own naivete.

_Wouldn't have it any other way though,_ she thought, her hand finding his.

**###**

"Cheers!"

Rumiko's exclamation rang throughout the room as she hoisted her wine glass into the air, clinking it with those of the gathered members of the two families who, for the last eight months had lived together and now were sharing their last night in one house.

As always, Rumiko put a celebratory spin on things by breaking out the wine, insisting that _everyone_ have a drink. Adults, teens and digimon.

Guilmon sniffed at his glass curiously, his nose wrinkling. It had a very sweet smell to it, but behind it lay something else. A bitter smell? He couldn't tell for sure, but for his nose, it was nearly overpowering. _Intoxicating_ even.

"Is it really okay to drink this?" he asked. He never had before, and from everything Takato and his parents had told him, it was not something to be taken lightly. Raising her glass to her lips, Rumiko winked at the dinosaur.

"In moderation," she said, to which Seiko chuckled.

"Something wrong, Mom?" Rumiko prompted, turning her attention to the matriarch, who sat next to Mie, the two having become fast friends in their computer programming studies.

"Nothing to speak of," Seiko replied with a small smile as she took a sip. Frowning, Rumiko took another sip of her own.

"Hard to believe that this is just about over," Takehiro chimed in, opting to keep the flow of good feelings moving. "I…um…" He sloshed the wine around in its glass as he contemplated what to say. "I'm not very good with words…"

"Now we know where Takato gets it from," Rika muttered, taking a sip from her own glass, if only to be polite. Renamon gave her a light elbow as she lifted her own glass to her muzzle – awkwardly, as her claws were not quite built for the delicate work of holding a wine glass – and took a light drink as well.

"What my husband is trying to say," Mie began, "is thank you. I know these last few months have been… _interesting,_ to say the least." She glanced meaningfully at her son, who was in the process of experimenting with his glass. Seeing this, he found himself taking a deeper drink than intended, draining the whole thing in one go.

"Whoa…" the boy breathed, his face flushing a little, everyone looking at him in surprise.

"Uh… Are you okay, son?" Takehiro asked worriedly. Smiling, Takato nodded.

"Yeah… Yeah! I'm okay. Just…shouldn't have done it so quick, that's all. Goose egg."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Rika said, taking a deeper drink as well, enjoying the sweet taste as her cheeks took on a rosy complexion to them. Briefly she wondered how hard this wine was. She had no reference to speak of really, but she could feel a slight buzz in the background of her head already. Nothing serious, but noticeable.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Rumiko repeated with a nod as she took the wine bottle and proceeded to pour Takato another drink. "But at least _taste_ it first."

"Rumiko…" Mie began, only for Takehiro to chuckle.

"We're here, Mie," he interceded. "We'll keep him from going overboard. Besides, it'll be a good learning experience for him."

Mie frowned at that, but glancing at her son, who looked at her expectantly, she sighed.

"All right," she conceded. "I'll allow it, but _just_ this one night and _only_ because we're celebrating having our own home again."

Lifting the drink to her mouth, she took a rather deep sip herself, Takato doing likewise.

"Anyway…" she continued, returning her attention to Seiko and Rumiko. "…we mean it, from the bottom of our hearts. I don't think we could have done this without you."

"I just wish we could pay you back," Takehiro added, rubbing the back of his head uncertainly.

"Nonsense," Rumiko smiled, swirling her drink in one hand as she smiled at the embarrassed family. "It was our pleasure. You're friends after all, and like my daughter often says, friends help each other when there's trouble. It's what we did when we cooked for our children their big feast back in the day. Besides, if you want to talk about payment, your cooking has _more_ than made up for it."

"Oh my," Renamon began with a sarcastic note to her voice. "Rika says that?"

"Watch it, Renamon," the girl in question scowled, taking another deep drink. Seiko watched the girl a bit warily. She wondered briefly about how well she could hold her liquor. Rika had very little experience with it, and she seemed to be taking to the sweet, rice wine rather quickly.

_Perhaps a little too quickly._

"Now, Rika…" the older woman warned, only for her thoughts to be interrupted by Guilmon's sudden drinking his wine down in one huge gulp.

"This is _good!"_ he crowed, smacking his lips before turning to Rumiko, golden eyes shining excitedly. "Can…Can I have more?"

"I think it's best if one of us supervises you if you're going to drink that quickly," Renamon interceded, taking his glass away from him and setting her own down between them. "Here. I can share mine with you."

"Are you sure?" Guilmon asked, the crimson scales around his cheeks taking on a dark discoloration. Instead of answering with words, Renamon raised the glass to his mouth and simply…smiled.

"Okay, now I'm _really_ wondering about those two," Takato murmured, leaning closer to Rika as she took another drink.

"Don't wonder too hard, Takato," she chuckled. "You might set your brain on fire."

"Hmmm…" Rumiko poured Takato's parents another glass. "That makes me wonder… _Do_ the partners of digimon share the same feelings? I only ask because…" She turned toward Renamon so she could face her more fully. "…well, let's be honest, Renamon. You and Guilmon have become rather…close, and I can't help but feel that it started up around the same time as Takato and Rika's relationship."

For a wonder, Renamon looked a little… _flustered_ by Rumiko's unexpected question. Her tail flicked in agitation as her eyes widened, and she drew the wine glass back to her lips and took a sip to distract herself. Seiko eyed the kitsune's behavior with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"Perhaps you are…misreading things," Renamon suggested, passing the glass back to Guilmon, who only tentatively took a drink, not wanting to greedily have it all in case Renamon wanted more. "Guilmon and I have been friends as well as allies for quite a number of years now. It would make sense for us to grow closer, especially with current circumstances."

"That sounds about right," Seiko smiled behind her glass as she took a drink.

Rumiko swirled the wine in her glass thoughtfully, not quite looking convinced, but not certain as to what else to say with regards to the vulpine digimon's response.

"I guess you're right. I don't really have the head for this sort of thing, but… Well, I guess it was a silly thought after all."

"I don't think you're silly," Takato said, his drink now half empty once again. "I think that's actually a _very_ good question. I mean…" he laughed suddenly, but quietly. "What do we know about how the partnership works? I mean, we biomerge with them, so…maybe…feelings transfer or…something?"

Pressing a hand against his forehead, he clenched his eyes shut, trying to think. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm even making any sense."

"I think you make sense," Guilmon smiled, missing Renamon's eyes as they grew just a little bit wider.

"Thanks boy," Takato smiled as Rika set her glass down, her first drink now finished. "But yeah, Ms. Nonaka. I don't think it's a silly question to ask. Henry always used to say that the first step to figuring things out is to ask questions."

"A wise boy," Seiko said.

"Didn't our teacher say something like that?" Mie asked, turning to the elder matriarch.

"They did," Seiko nodded. "And it's an important lesson to teach. Someone who seeks knowledge or truth isn't afraid of asking questions, no matter how they might sound."

"Well, I feel like I should be seeking a little bit of knowledge here," Rumiko said devilishly, filling up Takato and Rika's glasses while eyeing Renamon with a smirk. "Did it happen before or _after_ you kissed Takato while biomerged with my daughter?"

At that, shock was writ across Renamon's face like a bolt of lightning, and her tail flicked about in obvious agitation. Rika watched in awe as she lifted her glass to her lips, wondering just how much Renamon had to drink. She was always so controlled. What happened here?

_It should have been just the one…right?_

It was hard to be sure when a digimon had ninja-like abilities.

"Before," the kitsune said, almost sounding a bit annoyed by the interrogation. _"Certainly_ before."

Takehiro looked back and forth between the woman questioning her daughter's digimon partner, feeling a bit worried about the twitching back and forth of her tail.

"Um… Maybe this topic should be changed. Renamon seems a little bit…ah…out of sorts?"

"Ohhh… _no!"_ Rumiko laughed, refilling the kitsune's glass. "No, no, no. _no!_ We're having girl talk here. If she's in love with the digimon of my daughter's boyfriend, I want to know the scoop! So tell me. What was it that first drew you to him? His…um…"

Rumiko glanced over at Guilmon uncertainly, trying to determine what about him could have caught Renamon's attention. What _did_ attract digimon to each other?

"…big…scaly muscles?" she asked finally, a bit perplexed.

Renamon's tail only increased the speed of its twitching, causing Guilmon to offer her their shared wine glass. Renamon took it gratefully and drank.

"Well…" Rumiko began, smiling a little at this. "At least we know he's a gentleman."

"He gets that from Gogglehead," Rika said, her own glass now half finished. "It's one of his best qualities."

"I had my doubts about that that one day," Mie muttered around her drink, causing Rumiko's ears to perk up in response to this.

"Oh? Why, what happened?"

Rika's face flushed, knowing _exactly_ the incident Takato's mother was talking about.

She shot a quick look at the boy in question. Judging from the crimson that suddenly flooded his face, he knew as well.

"Oh, you know," Mie continued, holding out her glass for another refill, to which Rumiko quickly acquiesced excitedly. "Boys will be boys."

"Oh?" Rumiko turned an amused, cocked eyebrow at the brown-haired boy, who promptly looked ashamed. "My, my… Takato…"

"M-Ms. Nonaka…" Takato stammered out. "It wasn't like that!"

"Could have fooled me," Mie said as she took another long drink, giving up any pretense at being a responsible adult example for her son. "Honestly, Takato, reference material or not, it wasn't proper to have those magazines in front of a girl like that."

Rumiko's eyes grew wide at that and she pressed her hand against her mouth to keep from laughing as Seiko's eyebrows rose, neither woman having quite expected something like that from the shy, humble son of bakers.

"Mrs. Matsuki…" Rika scowled, feeling defensive of her Gogglehead. "We already explained what happened. He already had them hidden. He fell, and knocked them over on himself." She turned a fearsome look on her mother. "And there's _nothing_ funny about it!"

"Oh, Rika," Rumiko began between guffaws, holding a hand up to her. "Don't worry. Every relationship has a story or two…or several like that. They make for fun conversation in later years. I have some about your father that could outdo Takato by a landslide."

"So do you," Seiko observed, taking a casual sip from her wine glass. "I distinctly remember the red dildo you tried to keep hidden from me in your underwear drawer. Remember? The double ended one?"

Rika's mouth fell open at that, as did Rumiko, neither of them having expected that out of Seiko, who was usually so refined – and in the case of Rika, _doubly_ shocked to hear anything about her mother's sexual past times. Takato was looking at the family with eyes that were bulging in their sockets, and, if the look on his parents' faces were any indication, they shared much the same feeling.

"Maybe our kids shouldn't be here for this part," Takehiro grinned as Rika leaned her face into her hands. Suddenly feeling the need for yet _another_ drink to drown her mind in, she took Takato's and downed it in one go.

"It might be a good idea," Seiko said. "Otherwise I might have to explain why I found our remote control along with it. The one that Rumiko kept insisting for _weeks_ that she didn't know where it was. The one that was… _sticky."_

_"Mother!"_ Rumiko all but shrieked. At that, Rika decided enough was enough and got up from her seat, her face furiously competing with her hair now.

"I think I'm going to agree with Takato's dad on this one. Besides, I think we've had _more_ than enough by now."

Before she could even start heading in the direction of her room, Rika wobbled slightly, catching hold of Takato by the shoulder as he rose up to help her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he hugged her close and smiled at the others.

"I…ah…better walk her home," he said, laughing nervously. Frowning slightly, Renamon set her glass down.

"Rika?"

"We'll be fine," Rika assured her partner with a soft smile. "You can stay and enjoy the party." She suddenly grinned mischievously. "I'm sure _Mother_ would just _love_ to know what you and Guilmon hid the remote controls."

Guilmon tilted his head to one side while Renamon's eyes could only widen in utter shock at her partner, the dinosaur not understanding anything at all about what was being talked about.

"Um… I don't know about any remote controls, but if I were me, I'd be burying them outside so I could dig them up later."

"Guilmon?" Renamon asked as Rumiko buried her face in her arms, attempting to stifle her laughter while the two teens made their getaway. "Please be quiet."

"Um… Okay?" Guilmon replied, still no less perplexed than before.

**###**

With their arms slung around each other in support, Takato and Rika staggered into the girl's room, leaving the ongoing party between their families and their partners – and their ever-increasing bizarre topics of conversation – behind.

"Walk me home, huh?" Rika teased, sliding the door to her room closed behind them. "Even though I'm _already_ home."

Takato laughed, his face still rosy from the alcohol that buzzed in his system.

"Hey, i-it sounded good in my head at the time. Besides…" Leaning against the door, he let out another chuckle. "…I think my brain's gone all funny from the wine right now. And…everything else for that matter."

He wobbled slightly. Rumiko had _really_ pushed the alcohol on all of them tonight.

"Your brain was _already_ funny, even without my mom's wine," Rika giggled – much to their surprise – before leaning in and kissing his forehead. Faintly, she wondered when her 'lover boy' had shrunk, not yet noticing that he was slowly starting to sink to the floor. "You just mean you're being more of a Gogglehead than usual."

"Can't help it," Takato smiled, his hands coming to rest on her hips, one knee planting itself on the floor while the other attempted to remain upright, giving him the appearance of kneeling in a proposal of marriage. "You have that effect on me."

Liking the feel of his hands near her butt, Rika smirked and again kissed him, this time on the lips, bending her knees slightly so that she could reach her mark more easily.

"A good thing too," she hummed against him, the two finding themselves unexpectedly reaching the floor, Rika coming to rest upon his lap, pinning him. Running her hand along his face, she gazed into his warm, red eyes, trying to find something more to say, but words seemed to fall away from her, and in the end, she decided to kiss the boy again, her tongue probing at the entrance to his mouth, asking for entry, to which Takato granted with a passionate moan. His hands drifted down past her hips and placed themselves firmly on her rear, his fingers massaging her through her jeans. Grinning around the kiss, Rika lifted herself up and pushed against his touch, relishing in his boldness.

They didn't have many opportunities to have sex with their families all living together over the last eight months, but what time they did find had done a great deal to help Takato work through his initial anxieties about the depth their relationship had taken.

_He doesn't hesitate as much,_ she noted as Takato broke away from her lips and kissed down her neck, his teeth nibbling against her exposed skin ever so slightly.

"Yeah…" she breathed, one hand threading itself in his thick mess of brown hair, enjoying the feel of its softness in her fingers. "That's…That's good."

She arched herself against him, her chest pushing up eagerly and Takato moved toward it, remembering that Rika had taken particular liking toward his paying attention to her breasts. His mouth graced the surface of her shirt and he frowned in confusion at the rough texture as he attempted to suckle her. Giggling again at her lover's antics, Rika pushed him back just far enough for her to reach down and draw her shirt up before dropping it over the back of his head.

"There you go, Gogglehead," she laughed, pushing her breasts against him once more as Takato made a surprised squawk under her shirt, but his lips quickly found their target again, drawing her nipple into his mouth where his tongue began to bathe it. Biting her lower lip, Rika clutched him against her and began to rock against his hips.

"K-Kami…" she whispered, her door creaking now as the pair began to hump against each other. "Takato… I…"

Giving a sharp gasp, she buried her face against Takato's head and gave a particularly powerful thrust against him. Distantly, the boy, hearing the shaking of the door, realized that carrying on as they were would alert their families to what they were doing and pushed away. Planting his hand on the floor, he rotated on it and with a grunt of surprise, they fell together onto the floor, with him on top. Slipping out from beneath her shirt, he looked at the fire-haired girl and she looked back. Both of their faces were beat red, and they could see the desire glowing in their eyes. They both wanted more now. All that was left was whether they were willing to go further.

Wordlessly, Rika lifted herself up and reached toward his pants, slipping her hand beneath the waistband and taking hold of his hard penis. Swallowing nervously, Takato began to fumble with her belt buckle.

"For once you're not constantly asking me if I'm okay with this," she chuckled, drawing his erect penis out while wiggling his pants down his hips. As her belt clattered loose, Takato froze, and Rika immediately regretted bringing his old anxieties up. However, as she turned her gaze up toward him, preparing to soothe his nerves once more, the boy leaned into her grasp and kissed her hard, sensing that his hesitation had upset her and wanting to prove to her that he could push through himself. He didn't say anything further, and instead continued to kiss her, ignoring the powerful, almost painful beating of his nervous heart until finally, he broke away, smiling awkwardly.

"I think…by now…you would have kicked my butt if you weren't okay with this," he said. Smirking, Rika leaned up and gave his jaw a light kiss. As if that reaction had been enough, they broke away, Rika tugging her shirt off while Takato unbuttoned her jeans. After a brief struggle, the remainder of their articles of clothing were tossed into the far corners of the room and soon enough they were clutching against one another; Takato's penis positioned at Rika's vaginal entrance while her legs hooked around him, encouraging him to continue.

His heart rising into his throat, Takato bit his lower lip and began to press against her, causing Rika's body to flush in response. Locking her legs around his waist, she helped pull him in the rest of the way.

_Kami… She's so warm…_ he thought, sliding into her with a groan. Lowering himself, he kissed her, and Rika wrapped her arms around him, drawing him against her tight. Their inner fires rose as they began to rock against one another, Takato sliding out before pushing back in, grinding his body atop hers, wanting to pleasure her as much as possible. Breaking away from her lips, he traced butterfly kisses all the way down to her chest, right where she liked him, and once more took a breast into his mouth, nibbling on the areola of her nipple.

Rika's response was an immediate gasp of pleasure, and to squeeze him tightly with her legs before she buried her face into his mop of hair. Her orgasm was fast approaching. She could feel it. It rose like a tidal wave, and there was no stopping it. She began to buck her hips beneath him, trying to drive him deeper inside, searching for that one special place that she found she loved so much when he pressed against it. They were so _close!_

Takato's mind was dizzy with the raw pleasure flooding his body, and Rika's gyrating, bucking hips only intensified the sensation. His whole world had become one slick, warm tightness and throbbing jostling, and yet… Distantly, he felt as though they were forgetting something. Something important. It tugged at the corners of his mind with each, erratic thrust, their bodies clapping against one another, but nothing came to mind. The two of them twisted around each other, almost rolling onto their sides as they continued to passionately make love. Rika's warm muscles clamped down around him tightly, refusing to let him out as he pushed himself ever deeper inside.

Inside…

There was that feeling again that they were forgetting something, but Rika didn't give him a chance to pursue it any further. Finally flipping them both over so that she was at last on top and he on the bottom, Rika braced herself and bore down on him with all her strength, rolling her hips over his. Takato felt a flash of intense sensation and even _more_ heat flushed along his body. His penis twitched, signaling his own oncoming orgasm. Attempting to stave it off, he gripped her waist and tried to slow his answering push, but his own hips were now beyond listening to him as they rose upward to meet her fervent thrusts with increasing speed.

Rika let out a loud moan as she slammed down on him and ground her clitoris against his crotch.

"R-Rika…" he stammered out. "You're being too loud… Our families. They'll hear…"

"Then shut me up," Rika growled, her pace only quickening in response. Heat flooded every inch of her body. The pleasure was everywhere to the point of becoming _maddening!_ She doubted she could stop right now even if she wanted to. Takato's mind spun wildly. What was he going to do? If she grew any louder…

Her chest heaved as yet another groan escaped her lips. Seized by sudden desperation, he pushed up and clamped his lips around hers. Rika's eyes rolled up into the back of her head as she sank him into her once more and then… _finally…_

_O-Oh kami…!_ her mind stammered out, feeling her lover's penis press against that sweet spot of hers. Her legs splayed out, attempting to draw him in even further. She could feel the pressure of his penis on a small bump inside her, holding her there on the edge of her orgasm. Her body shuddered…

…and Takato pushed her the rest of the way with a single, powerful thrust.

The tension in her vagina broke, contracting and squeezing around the penis inside her and she half-groaned, half-screamed into her lover's mouth, her orgasm sweeping over her with such force that her muscles clenched and unclenched powerfully, leaving her quaking uncontrollably. Takato held himself there, his lips pressed hard against Rika's as he fought to keep from bursting then and there from her tight, coiling contractions. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of pleasure-filled agony, Rika's orgasm died away and the girl slumped down against him, panting heavily. Their lips parting, she smiled exhaustedly at him. Takato smiled back, running a hand along her cheek.

"Was that good?" he asked, to which Rika giggled and leaned into his hand.

"Geez Gogglehead… As if you even _have_ to ask after all that?"

Takato blushed and kissed the corner of her lips lightly in response. "I just…like making you feel good. And I want to figure out how make you feel _better._ "

Blushing in return, Rika shifted down, noticing that he was not only still inside her, but also remained quite hard.

_He didn't finish…_

Squeezing her legs together, she eyed her lover boy playfully.

"Well…we can start that by making _you_ feel good too," she said huskily before lifting her hips once more until only the tip remained inside her. She hovered there, their eyes meeting. A small grin drew across her face and she felt him twitch at the edge of her entrance.

"After all," she continued, "this game is _always_ better when we're both enjoying it together."

With that said, she slammed down on him, her vagina swallowing him whole, causing the boy quietly gasped in ecstasy. His penis trembled, and that sharp feeling of pleasure returned with a vengeance. He thrust upward in response, kissing her hips with his own.

"So what…" Rika gyrated her hips while pressing down on him, pushing him deep inside her while pinning him to the floor. "…do you want to do?"

Takato clenched his eyes shut tightly as he fought to keep from bursting then and there. After a long, agonizing moment, he relaxed and opened his eyes, his face beat red. A smile – that smile she loved so much – broke across his face nervously.

"R-Rika…?" he stammered out, his voice tattering as he clung to her tightly for dear life. "Can…Can I… May I… Like…Like I was earlier…?"

She kissed him, knowing what he meant before he could even finish saying it. He wanted to be on top again.

"Sure," she whispered. An idea came to her as she said that, and pulling off, she turned around and knelt on all fours. Glancing over her shoulder, she smirked at him, waving her rear at him in invitation.

"Like this?" she asked. Seeing his eyes grow wide in stunned amazement, she knew what his response was, even as his mouth failed to deliver. Trembling, he approached her and took hold of her by the waist again. This… This was different, and not at all what he expected from her. It felt strangely exciting, seeing her presenting herself in such a way. Positioning his penis at her entry, he slid on in again, her warm folds welcoming him back inside delightedly. Shivering, he brought himself to rest against her back and kissed her neck before he began thrusting. Rika grunted at her being jostled, but she warmed to the position quickly, enjoying the feel of Takato's chest against her back; his weight resting on her rear end as he pushed into her over and over. Feeling his hands reach around and take hold of her breasts, massaging them, she groaned and began to thrust back against him eagerly, feeling the start of another orgasm, her vagina growing warm as it swelled around her lover once more, hugging him tightly.

Takato drank in the sensation of her squeezing around him, feeling intoxicated by her heat and loveliness and _eagerness_. His thrusts became more urgent; coming faster and faster as he buried himself inside the girl he loved so much. He could feel his sperm marching up the length of his penis, crying out desperately to be released into her awaiting body. The pleasure was overwhelming, drowning out all conscious thought until, finally, with one last thrust and a squeeze, he gasped harshly, his penis jerking and throbbing deep inside Rika's vagina, unloading its hot contents with each powerful contraction of its muscles. Rika moaned in approval at the feel of his warmth filling her – different, yet not unpleasant – and she laid her front down, pushing her butt back against him, attempting to take him even deeper inside. His hands tightened their grip around her breasts in response, leaving red imprints in her skin, and she smiled, enjoying the feeling of him shaking around her uncontrollably. _She_ was responsible for that. It made her feel… _powerful._ Different from being on top, but somehow still powerful.

After what felt like an eternity, Takato's panting, trembling body came to rest fully against her, his face falling next to her cheek.

"Wow… Rika… Just… _Wow."_

The flame-haired girl smirked and kissed the corner of his lips. The awkward position made it difficult, but not impossible.

"Love you too, Gogglehead," she chuckled. "Do you think you're up for another round?"

She humped back against him in the hopes of coaxing some life back into him. However, his penis, already rapidly softening, slipped out of her, a single string of sperm connecting their two sexes together.

"S-Sorry," Takato panted. "I think…I think that part of me is done for the night."

A small smile drew itself upon his face however and he took a hand from off a breast and Rika hummed in approval as his fingers drifted down her belly and found its way to her clitoris.

"But I think the rest of me can keep going," he finished, his fingers starting to massage her now. Rika's breath hitched in her throat in delight at that. Arching her back, she again pushed back against him to heighten the sensation.

Takato Matsuki… _Her_ Gogglehead in shining armor, and ever the gentleman.

**###**

Slowly, Rika awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and she shifted beneath the blanket of her futon, wincing slightly at the light of the new dawn. Her head hurt, but only slightly. Cracking open her violet eyes, she smiled upon seeing Takato sleeping next to her, his breathing even and still resting. In the time that they had begun sleeping together, she found that he was a bit of a heavier sleeper than she was. Not that either of them had the tendency to oversleep, but Takato was harder to awaken compared to her.

Oddly enough, she found that she liked that. She couldn't explain why, but she liked the idea of waking up with him right there next to her.

Sighing happily, she snuggled closer to him, feeling the warm, hard length of his 'good morning' prodding her stomach, causing memories from last night to swarm to life in her mind. She couldn't remember all of it very well, but she _did_ remember that they got pretty wild. She couldn't remember their previous sexual romps being quite _that_ intense. Maybe it had to do with Takato's alcohol-induced boldness. She certainly couldn't remember him being quite so… Well. Perhaps _aggressive_ wasn't the right word for it, but he certainly moved with more confidence and a kind of eager wildness. If she liked it and didn't make him stop, he continued, and did so with the express purpose of making her feel good.

And _did_ he make her feel good.

_His fingers… His tongue… I never thought he could do something like_ that _to me before, and he's already done quite a_ lot _of things,_ she thought, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the lips, causing him to stir. His crimson eyes fluttered open and met hers with a smile.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty."

"Pretty sure that story involves a prince charming kissing a comatose girl, not a Digimon Queen kissing a Gogglehead," Rika quipped, her eyes flashing in amusement. "How're you feeling?"

"Like someone pounded my head with a hammer," Takato chuckled, his expression wincing a little. "Could be worse though. I could be waking up next to Kazu."

"Don't even joke about that," Rika snorted, yet a small grin tugged at the corners of her lips, finding the image of Takato waking up next to the boy a bit amusing regardless of her actual thoughts on the matter. Pushing herself up, the blanket fell down from her chest, baring her for her lover boy to see, causing him to blush brightly, as though he were seeing her breasts for the first time again. She smirked and climbed out of their shared futon, heading over to where she had her day clothes hanging, ready for her to wear. She felt a bit of tackiness between her legs as she did so, and frowned slightly down at them. Lifting up her panties, she slipped a hand down along her vulva and slid a finger inside herself experimentally.

_Still wet?_ she wondered curiously, withdrawing her finger and finding a strand of liquid connecting it to her vagina. Rubbing another finger over it, testing the consistency of the fluid, she blinked, a thought occurring to her, followed quickly by a vague memory of their late-night romp.

"Are you all right?" Takato asked, climbing out of Rika's futon, noting the girl's hesitation. Blinking again, she looked up at Takato and back down at her fingers before blushing noticeably.

"No! No… I mean…" Rika began to backpedal, not sure how that sounded to her ears or to Takato's. The boy in question, sensing something was amiss, quickly hurried on over to her. Rika's blush deepened as she caught sight of Takato's penis flailing about between his legs. Coughing, she continued.

"I…I…think you might have…um…" She struggled to say the words. "…finished inside me… Withouta condom."

Approaching her, Takato's eyebrows rose at that before realization hit him like a truck.

"Oh… _Oh!_ Rika! I'm… I'm sorry! I didn't…! I wouldn't… I…"

She looked up at him, seeing how upset he was looking, his expression twisting together as a thousand thoughts rushed through his mind. Rika could guess just about all of them and scowling, she quickly snatched hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Takato. Believe me, I _know_ what you would and wouldn't do, so _stop_ it right there. Put the brakes on where your mind is going. You know just as well as I do what happened. _Neither_ of us were thinking last night. For goodness sake. Mom kept pushing the wine and we kept drinking. That's _bound_ to cause a few mental hiccups in us."

Takato looked up at her, a note of sorrow in his eyes, and pulled her close to him. She felt his penis, still soft, push against her leg.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised. Rika frowned at that, not sure if she liked the tone in his voice as he spoke.

"Takato…" she warned. "It better not be anything _Goggleheaded,_ got it? We had a fantastic night with a goof up. Don't ruin it by doing something stupid while sober."

She felt the tension in Takato's arms around her, his hands massaging her back.

"I'll think it through this time," he said softly, and this time she heard a small smile behind his words. "I just… I hate to think that I might have hurt you."

Rika closed her eyes, frowning at that. _Again,_ with his worries of hurting her.

_I thought he was over that…_

"I wish you wouldn't think that," she said quietly, slipping her hands around his back, brushing his buttocks lightly. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times already. I _know_ you. After all these months, you _really_ should know that by now. Please… Get it through your thick head." She paused before chuckling. "The _both_ of them."

She felt Takato's muscles loosen their tension a little at that, and with a light laugh of his own, he kissed the top of her head.

"I'll work on that," he promised. Relaxing herself, Rika smiled again. Running her hands down to his rear, she took hold of the thick muscle buried within and squeezed it happily.

She felt his length respond with a twitch and a jump at that, pressing against her leg eagerly.

"I'll be sure to hold you to it," she said, parting her legs slightly so as to allow her lover boy to slide between them and press against her entrance. It felt nice having it resting there, and her body pulsated happily in agreement.

But most certainly, it felt nicer having him here with her, holding her just as she held him. Her heart fluttered and sang happily in double agreement with the rest of her body, echoing Takato's heartbeat and soon enough, the pair found their lips meeting one another again, the morning sunlight warming them as they kissed lovingly.


	2. Chapter 2

Sliding open the door, Rika peaked outside, listening carefully. Satisfied that she couldn't hear any of their family members, she slipped out and gave Takato the all-clear, the boy quickly following suit. The plan was simple, though complicated by the need for stealth, something that Takato was terrible at, as he was sorely lacking in subtlety. She was to take the first shower, primarily so she could clean herself out – just because she was on birth control didn't mean she trusted it completely – in addition to getting cleaned up, and he would follow after she was done. They were early enough in the day so that they could count on their families to still be asleep. If they were quick and quiet enough…

_Hopefully our parents didn't notice that we were together all night,_ she thought, remembering that, although Takato walked her to her room, neither of them asked if they could spend the night together. A light blush colored her face as they silently made their way down the hall – an easy task, even for Takato due to the lack of objects for him to trip over – thinking about how hard Takato had to work to keep her from screaming out loud in her orgasmic bliss.

_That Gogglehead is getting to know me a little_ too _well,_ she thought, pausing at a corner as they separated, her violet eyes falling on his shirt-covered shoulder, beneath which bore bruises from her teeth. One of her _own_ attempts at stifling her cries.

Blushing even harder, she ducked around the corner and padded along the floor in her socked feet. A part of her wondered when they would be able to get together for another such romp, this time in a love hotel where they could both cut loose without fear of being found out. At the idea, her blush spread along her body and she quickened her pace.

_I've got sex on the mind way too much now,_ she thought. Absently, her hand drifted to her stomach, and she became aware once more of the dampness from Takato's sperm between her legs.

If they already hadn't had a long, frustrating period without sex, she would have recommended slowing things down again, just so they could regain some self-control.

_Or…maybe the constant dodging and being unable to do it when we want is what's making it so bad?_ she wondered. She sighed, silently cursing their bodies for being so lustful around each other. She couldn't remember it being this bad for her before that summer, or before Takato for that matter.

Heaving another sigh, this time heavier than the last one, she passed by the room where they had been drinking last night, pausing upon finding Renamon seated next to Guilmon, eyes closed and arms folded over her chest, her tail draped over the back of the crimson dinosaur while his, in turn, lay over her lap. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips and, in spite of herself, she made her way over and knelt down, poking at the side of Renamon's face playfully.

The vulpine digimon's azure eyes flickered open, only to clench shut almost immediately.

"Rik…" she began before groaning suddenly, and with great discomfort. The fire-haired girl nodded. _That_ sounded like a hangover if she ever heard one.

"Mom really messed you up, last night, huh?"

"Morning already?" came the voice of Guilmon, stirring. Lifting his head up, he blinked his gold-colored eyes and turned to find Renamon's tail on his back like a makeshift blanket. A smile drew itself across his muzzle and he sniffed at the golden fur happily.

"At least it's a good morning."

"Guilmon…" Renamon moaned, pressing her paw against her temple, the pain in her voice becoming even more obvious. "Please… When you speak, do so more quietly."

"Hah?" Guilmon tilted his head to one side questioningly, but he lowered his voice as requested. "I don't understand. I'm not talking that loud…am I?"

"Renamon has a hangover," Rika explained, patting the dinosaur on the head in a comforting manner. "She's going to be sensitive to all kinds of stuff right now."

"Rika…" Renamon flinched as Guilmon nodded in understanding, drawing a claw across his lips to indicate his newfound silence. The girl furrowed her brow at her partner.

"Jeez… Just _how much_ did you drink last night?"

Turning toward the table, she made a note that it was still fairly dirty from last night's festivities. Certainly none of the bottles…

_Bottles. Four of them._ She made another note that they were all clustered around Renamon's end of the table. _Oh kami… Mom. What did you do to my digimon?_

The answer was obvious, and with a sigh, she patted Guilmon again, signaling that he was to follow her.

"Hang right there, Renamon," she said, getting to her feet as Guilmon did likewise, curious as to why Rika wanted him to go with her. The two of them padding out, the young girl led her lover's partner to the bathroom, where the medicine cabinet lay.

"What's wrong with Renamon?" Guilmon asked.

"A bad mistake," Rika said bluntly. "She let Mom keep pouring drinks for her, right?"

"Ah… Yeah, I think so. She said she wanted to keep talking with her about…all kinds of things. About me. About you. About Takato. About herself. About…"

"I get it," Rika grunted, opening the medicine cabinet and sorting through it until she found some medicine. "There. She'll need this for the headache, but she's going to need _lots_ of water. I don't know what else she's going to need, so make sure she gets fed well, but water is going to be the big one."

"Why's that?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Because alcohol dehydrates you, and by the looks of things, Mom tried to make her drink half the wine cabinet. Lose enough of that, and…" She indicated the direction of Renamon. "…that's what you get."

"But…I don't feel too bad," Guilmon said, still confused. "I don't have a headache, and I drank enough where it made me sleepy."

"That's because you're a lot bigger than Renamon," Rika pointed out as they headed toward the kitchen.

"What's my being big have to do with anything?"

"Something to do with how you absorb the alcohol," Rika shrugged. She didn't normally drink it like her mother did, mainly because she didn't care to, so her knowledge on the subject was fairly limited outside of whatever she learned in health class. Approaching the sink, she took out a glass and quickly filled it with water.

"Give her this with the medicine," she said, turning back toward Guilmon. "And make sure she drinks all the water. That's her first order of business, got it? She needs to drink water."

"I got it, no problemo," Guilmon said, giving the Digimon Queen a salute before taking both medicine and water in his claws. "Ah… Oh! But what about you? Do you need any…"

"I didn't drink too much to end up like Renamon," Rika replied, a touch of pride in her voice.

"No, no," Guilmon shook his head. "I mean, aren't you hurt anywhere?"

Tilting his head, he gave Rika an inspective look, confused at how she could be up and about.

"I only ask, because last night you gave a pretty loud yell."

Blushing _furiously,_ Rika was pushing Guilmon back in the direction of Renamon.

"All right, move it, Dino-boy, before I make a pair of shoes out of you!"

She was _so_ going to need that shower now.

**###**

Takato sprayed himself down with the shower wand while Rika busied herself in the tub, albeit behind a closed door so as to 'discourage' anything that would make her shout. It was, in Takato's estimation, a smart idea, given how wild the two of them had gotten last night. His own memory of their entanglement had a touch of fogginess but he definitely remembered Rika enjoying what he did to her, as her words to that effect stood out prominently in her mind.

Dumping the pail of water over his hair, he took up the peach scented soap Rika had given him and squirted it into the palm of his hand. The thick cream pooled in his palm and lifting it, he began to lather, only to pause as he heard Rika groan in exasperation from the other side of the door.

"Uh…everything all right?" he asked, turning on the stool.

"Just…having a bit of trouble cleaning myself out," he heard her grumble. "Takato… I think I'm going to need your help with this."

Takato blushed brightly, but nodded. Getting up from his seat he made his way over to the door to the tub and paused, steeling himself before opening the door, wherein he found Rika, standing in the middle of the tub, her back turned to him and scowling at her hand. Upon seeing him, her scowl lightened, but the frustration didn't leave her eyes.

Making his way over to the young girl, he set himself down on the edge of the tub.

"So…um… How do you want me to help?"

As if answering his own question, his crimson eyes turned toward the red tuff of hair that lay between Rika's legs. His penis twitched at the sight and began to rise.

_Down boy,_ he told it, but it continued to grow like the smile of Terriermon when ordered not to think of mischief.

"Could you…reach…into me?" Rika asked with a sharp blush on her face. Shifting and bending slightly, she presented her hindquarters to him. "I'm having trouble getting the rest of it out and I _know_ there's more in there."

Glancing at him over her shoulder, she shot him an accusing look.

"Sure," he nodded apologetically, feeling a well of shame rise up inside him. "I'll…uh…be careful."

Lifting his hand, he pressed his fingers against her vaginal opening and slid them in, causing the girl to make a slight grunt. Takato wasn't quite sure what to do, having fit his middle and index fingers all the way to the knuckle. He doubted he could reach any further than she could.

Yet…he did feel something in there other than the moist heat and her strong muscles. Focusing on the task, he placed a hand on Rika's butt for better leverage and adjusted his fingers, pushing a little bit further and curling his fingers within her.

Rika jumped at that and placed her hands against the wall, bracing herself.

"Sorry!" Takato said, suddenly worried. "It's just… It's really deep in there and…"

"I _know_ how deep it is in me," Rika said breathily with a flushed face. "And don't apologize when you're trying to help. Just…keep trying, okay? I'll deal with it."

Adjusting herself again, Rika spread her legs as best she could to provide him with a little more access. Swallowing, all the while feeling that the blood in his face was about to burst, Takato withdrew his fingers, taking note of the thin trail of sperm along them.

As he dunked his hand into the water to clean them, memories of last night – and indeed, of _all_ their shared experiences together – floated in the back of his mind, and once again his penis twitched. The pleasurable hardness of its length called for action, wanting relief from its tension.

Ignoring his erection, he pushed his fingers back into her as far as they could go. Rika gasped and hung her head, feeling the heat in her body increase in intensity. There was more behind it, rising up like a small wave. Panting slightly, she pressed her hand over her mouth and began to focus on controlling her breathing. He was inside her, curling and twisting his fingers around. He wasn't trying to masturbate her, but the effect was becoming very much the same.

She needed a way to distract herself before things got out of hand again.

"I don't know how well this is working," Takato said, pulling out of her once more, trailing a string of his sperm from her reddening opening before it broke and swung down like a thin rope between Rika's legs, hanging there ever so slightly before finally breaking away and falling into the bathwater.

Takato found himself swallowing at the sight, and his penis trembled. A crazy part of his mind suggested that his penis would be more up to the task of cleaning her out than his fingers, being a little bit larger for such a job, but he pushed such thoughts out of his mind, knowing them full well for what they were and where it would all end.

"M-Maybe if we had something l-longer?" he suggested, trying to focus through the haze of lust that settled over his mind. "I…I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm _not_ making a mess of anything from my family to clean me out," Rika grumbled, turning toward him, causing Takato to blush even harder and his length to tremble even more as her front was now presented to him. "Just…keep trying a little bit more, okay? I…"

Swallowing now, she glanced at his hair, still full of suds from his earlier, still incomplete attempt at lathering.

"Let me do that while you work, okay?" she said, reaching for his hair. "I need something to do."

"Might be a good idea if we tried distracting each other," Takato agreed as she moved closer, her breasts hanging just above his eyes. Kami, he felt like he was going to turn into one giant burst blood vessel if something didn't change and quick! Kneeling down slightly so he could have better access to her vagina, he slid his hand into her again, doing his best to ignore her slight groan at his reentry, and the pressure of her breasts against his head. Her hands dug into his hair curling inside his locks. He felt her tremble and his penis throbbed angrily at its lack of attention.

"Kami…" he breathed, working as best he could. "We were supposed to bathe separately…"

"Well _someone_ had to shoot their sperm really far into me," Rika replied, digging her hands into his hair and rubbing his scalp roughly.

Takato winced at that, but bit back a reminder that neither of them were quite in the right frame of mind last night. He didn't want to start a fight, not after their earlier talk upon waking up and realizing what happened.

"Sorry," he apologized instead, pushing as deep as he could into her, earning him another moan from the girl. "I'll do my best, but…but…"

Takato trailed off, realizing Rika was now pressing her hips down onto his hand, attempting to force as much of it into her trembling body as possible. She was simply holding his head now, clutching at it desperately.

"Rika?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"S-Sorry," she panted heavily. "You just… And then I… _Kami_ Takato…" Drawing back, she gave him a hard look. _"You_ are getting _too_ good."

"I…don't know if I should take that as a compliment or a scolding."

"Right now, it's both," she couldn't help but laugh, kissing his forehead.

"Um… Do you want me to…" He coughed, searching for the right way to put it. _"…get you off?_ I mean, if I'm only distracting you…then…maybe it would be a good idea to…change that?"

Rika found her blush only grow even hotter at the boy's offer, and distractedly she ran her hands through his hair.

"That… That _does_ sound tempting," she admitted. "It…It might be a bad idea though. Guilmon… He says that I can be a little loud…"

"Yeah, I got that," Takato chuckled, the bruise on his shoulder still smarting a little. Tracing her hand down to the injury, she massaged it apologetically. "What do you want me to do, Rika?"

Rika swallowed. The temptation was _very_ strong, and she knew her body wanted his loving touch badly. But…that's not what they were here for. She bit her lip, wrestling with the decision, torn between sending Takato away so as to be separated from the temptation, or to have him masturbate her all the way to orgasm. It was a much harder choice than it seemed, not wanting to hurt her lover-boy's feelings when he wanted to help her, and simultaneously not wanting him to feel like she was using him as a means to her pleasure.

"How about…you just keep working," she said finally. "And whatever happens, happens."

After a heavy silence, Takato nodded. "Okay. But…you should probably turn around again. It was a little easier on my wrist that way. And I think I could get in deeper too."

_That's going to make it harder for me to distract myself,_ Rika thought, biting her lip, but she nodded in understanding. Drawing away from Takato, she again turned her rear toward him and braced herself against the wall.

"Okay," she said before giving him a coy, if nervous smirk. "Have at me."

His face somehow finding enough blood to blush again, he adjusted himself against the soft, yet firm muscle of her butt before pushing his fingers back into her again. Rika gasped and dropped her head down between her arms, determined to ride out the pleasurable tremors that rocked her body.

"Jeez," Takato said, scooping out another strand of his seed and dipping his fingers into the water. His eyes were wide, stunned at the amount of his sperm inside her. "What got into me last night?"

"You mean _besides_ the wine?" Rika asked sarcastically. Looking down between her legs, she watched Takato's hand lift back up before dropping down to his burgeoning erection, rising from the tuft of brown hair like an exclamation point. The swollen head peaked out at her from the sheath of his foreskin, its hole looking a touch damp, as though it were weeping.

_Kami,_ Rika cursed, feeling herself part around his fingers before her head snapped up with a harsh gasp.

_That does it,_ she thought irritability, dropping one hand to her right breast and giving it a hard squeeze, hoping to relieve some of the pressure.

"T…Takato… It… It looks like I'm going to blow my stack anyway…"

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No point in that now…" Rika shook her head, her heartbeat banging harshly against her chest, instinctively starting to hump back against him. "I'm…I'm…"

_Oh no… Here it comes…_

Clenching her teeth together, Rika slammed a fist against the wall while her other hand groped around reflexively between her legs for Takato's hand, humping back against his fingers as her orgasm hit her like a truck. Finding Takato's startled hand, she clutched hold of them and pressed back against them, wiggling her rear against it, riding out the throes of passion quaking through her body until, finally, she pulsing and throbbing in her body subsided and she leaned her head against the wall, panting heavily, her face one, large blush.

Takato watched her with a small, though uncertain smile on his face, wondering if she was all right with the impromptu orgasm. Leaning forward, he gave the soft skin of her butt a gentle kiss and retracted his hand from her swollen vagina. His throbbing penis groaned, aching for similar attention, but with an effort he ignored it.

"Okay…" he began, washing his hand in the tub again. "I'm not sure if I got it all, but if you want, I can give it another shot in a little bit."

Her breathing still shaky, but more controlled, Rika shook her head.

"T-That's probably all we can get out of me," she said. Pushing back from the wall, she settled herself down next to the boy. She had done some queefing earlier, when she had been alone, but it hadn't been sufficient to get all of Takato's semen out of her. She would try again later if she felt it important enough, but _not_ when her lover-boy was around.

_By this point it probably doesn't matter as much anyway,_ she thought, curling her toes in the warm water.

"Okay," Takato nodded. Patting the edge of the tub nervously, he waited for what felt like an awkward second, trying to ignore the needy pulse of his penis before finally getting up. "W-Well, I'd better get back to cleaning myself."

Catching sight of his erect member once more, Rika pressed her lips together in quick debate before catching hold of his wrist.

"Hold on," she said, a bit more sternly than she intended. Pausing, Takato looked back at her, the two lovers blushing mightily.

"Uh… Yeah?" Takato asked, another awkward moment passing between them. Swallowing nervously, Rika smiled at him.

"I…I know it wasn't planned, but…do you…want me to help you relieve your…um…tension?"

Takato felt as though his mouth had gone dry. Rubbing the back of his head, he gave a nervous chuckle.

"I…I don't want to bother you about that, and we're kind of already taking up too much time in here…"

Rika glanced down at his penis, her knowing smirk losing some of its anxiety.

"Takato, you've gotten better at holding off, but you're still a boy. Plus, I think with the way you look right now, it won't take long. _Especially_ if you don't try holding back."

Reaching out, she encircled his shaft with her hand and gave it a questioning caress. She felt it tremble on her palm, and she knew it wouldn't take very long at all.

Takato's breath came out nervously, his old anxieties rising up like a ghost from their recently dug grave. He didn't like to give Rika the impression that she was a means for his pleasure, and the whole thing wasn't planned to begin with, making him feel awkward about wanting to say yes. However, looking into her violet eyes, he pushed his old worries back down and nodded.

"Okay," he said quietly, moving closer to her. Grinning slightly now, Rika leaned forward and gave the tip of his penis a quick kiss before getting to her feet, gently pumping him with her hand.

"Do whatever helps, okay?" she said, stepping backward into the tub, giving him just enough of a tug to invite him along. Takato didn't need to be told twice and the two found each other standing in the water, her back to the wall, holding him in her hand, continuing to stroke him back and forth, gliding her thumb along the fat, swollen head, knowing how sensitive it was for him, before prodding its opening. Fluid spilled out from within and out over her thumb, thin and light, again, giving the appearance that it was weeping, but this time with joy at finally receiving its much desired attention.

Takato took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, feeling himself starting to get lost in the mist of pleasure that rose up from his hard member and spread throughout his body. Planting his hands on either side of his lover to balance himself, he spread his legs out slightly and began to thrust into her hand.

"Oh kami…" he whispered, stepping closer to her. "Rika… I'm…I'm getting close…"

"It's okay," Rika encouraged softly. Taking him in both hands now, she pressed the head of his penis against her stomach, just above the fire of her hair. "Whenever you're ready. Just let it out."

Opening his crimson eyes, he gazed into her violet gaze, seeing the implicit trust and love blazing within them. Overcome by a sudden wave of emotion, he kissed her passionately, groaning against her as he thrust forth once more. Rika moaned back, returning it eagerly and Takato's penis dipped down into the red tuft of hair that lay between her legs, where it began to pulsate madly.

Hot semen spilled out, coating Rika's pubic hair and Takato's butt flexed, pushing into its softness with each, pleasurable pulse of his erection.

"R-Rika…" the boy panted against her, thrusting one last time as the throes of his orgasm began to subside. Kissing him gently, Rika giggled.

"Told you it wouldn't take long."

**###**

Rika slid the door to the bathroom shut behind her with a soft click, listening intently before adjusting the skirt to her school uniform. The second part of their plan was equally simple as before, but still relied on everything going well. She would head out first after having gotten dressed, and Takato would follow after a few minutes so as to not arouse suspicion. Satisfied that all seemed quiet in the house, she made her way in the direction of the dining room, wondering how Renamon and Guilmon were getting along.

_They_ have _been getting along pretty well lately,_ she thought. While the observation was hardly new to her, especially with regards to the potential depth of their relationship, the discussion from last night did leave her wondering how much of it had to do with the growing bond of trust between them and the feelings that she and Takato shared with each other.

_Just how much_ do _we influence our digimon?_ she wondered, approaching the dining room where she heard some voices softly talking with each other. Frowning slightly, she closed in cautiously, and found the back of her grandmother facing the door while Renamon sat across from her, an icepack in one hand pressed against her forehead while the other held a glass of water. Guilmon sat next to her, his golden eyes adoring and attentive on the kitsune as her tail twitched irritably.

"…she gets that from her mother," Seiko was saying. "Believe it or not, Rumiko was intensely driven and wouldn't let anyone tell her otherwise. If she seems lax now, it's because she's happy with where she is."

"I get what from Mom?" Rika asked, stepping into the room. Turning, Seiko smiled at her granddaughter.

"Good morning, Rika. Sleep well?"

"Slight headache when I woke up," Rika shrugged as she sat down next to her, trying to ignore the chance that her grandmother meant something _more_ when asking about how well she slept. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Setting herself down, she gave Renamon a playful, almost triumphant smirk, as if teasing the kitsune about her difficulty in handling her hangover. Renamon simply glowered, the pain in her temples continuing to throb and pulsate angrily.

"That is quite good to hear," Seiko said before turning a raised eyebrow at the sound of a low thump and a squawk from out in the hall. Sighing, Rika rolled her eyes and turned to find Takato hopping on one foot, rubbing at a stubbed toe.

"Are you all right, dear?" Seiko asked, giving the boy a small smile.

"Oh yeah. Just, you know, being graceful like always."

"Hmmm… And you slept well also?"

Rika frowned slightly at that.

"Yeah," Takato nodded, entering the room and joining Rika, where her frown settled on the lopsided tie of his school uniform. "Probably the best night I can remember having."

Rika's eye twitched at that, thoughts and suspicions about her grandmother chasing each other in her head. In an attempt to change the subject and to settle a new burning desire, she turned toward her lover, giving his uniform an appraising look. She snorted and immediately set about undoing his tie.

"Gogglehead, why is it that _I_ can do a tie better than you when I don't even wear one? I keep showing you how to do it, and you keep messing it up anyway."

"Because you're naturally gifted and beautiful?" Takato laughed with an embarrassed blush. Rika snorted.

"Points for a nice compliment, but you're not getting out of this one. I swear, I'm going to teach you how to connect the dots on this one, even if I have to dump you in the digital world to do it."

"That's harsh…"

"It'd make you learn, wouldn't it?"

"Probably not," Guilmon said, bringing his head to rest on Renamon's lap and breathing deep her scent. "Ties and you get along as well as Rika with Kazu, if not worse."

"Hey!" Takato protested as Rika continued to adjust the mess that was his tie.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say it's _worse,"_ Rika admitted, finally satisfied with her corrections. "But it's certainly right up there."

Giving him another critical look, she reached up and ruffled the boy's neatly combed hair, earning him a surprised squawk as it went all over the place.

"Hey! Come on, I got _that_ to look good at least!"

"Not for me," Rika chuckled. "On this, I don't care what your school says. You don't look right without it being a little bit messy. It gives you character."

"Yeah, but I have to listen to the class rep complain about it," Takato complained.

"Your class rep isn't dating you," Rika retorted with a smirk. "Maybe you can use that as an excuse when she bothers you about your hair."

"Somehow I don't think that's going to fly…"

"It will, whether she likes it or not."

"Could the two of you instead _fly_ out of here?" Renamon asked, lowering her head to the table, all the while pressing her ice pack more tightly to her head. "Kami… I feel like I'm being deleted…"

"Ohhh… Renamon, don't say that," Guilmon whined, cuddling closer to her. "Seikomon says you'll be okay, and she's always been right before. Why not now?"

"Oh, why thank you," Seiko smiled behind her soup bowl at the crimson dinosaur before turning to the two Tamers. "It might be a good idea for the two of you to get an early start. Everyone had quite a bit more to drink than would be comfortable. I think it would be best to wait for such a morning cloud to lighten before seeing everyone."

"Wow, they're that bad?" Takato asked. Nodding, Seiko set down her soup bowl.

"In a way," she said, looking from the boy to the girl. "Of course, I can't say for sure, but everyone _did_ have quite a bit to drink after the two of you disappeared last night."

_Oh…_ was all Rika could think as her eyes widened slightly, her suspicions about last night only being confirmed. It seemed that, for a change, Takato was equally as quick on the uptake as she was.

"Oh… Right," Takato stammered. "Ah… Were we… We didn't… I mean…"

"I'm not going to judge the two of you," Seiko eased, her hand reaching over to Rika's and clasping it in her own. "We've been over this before enough times, and I think, given the circumstances, last night was understandable. Some of us need a bit more time to come to terms with the depth of your relationship. In either case…"

Taking up her soup bowl, she took another sip before setting it back down with a _clink._

"…cooler heads will be better to deal with."

Rika groaned. Last night's slipup, as nice as it had been for them, only continued to complicate things for them.

_Great. What's next? This time I end up getting knocked up?_

Her mind paused and her hand drifted to her stomach, thinking back to her scare back in the summer all those months ago. Takato was willing to stand by her.

_I'm tempting fate with thoughts like that, aren't I?_

Much to her surprise, Takato took hold of her hand and drew himself to his feet.

"I understand," he said, earning him a raised eyebrow from Rika, a bit surprised at the determined look in his eyes. Turning toward her, Takato gave her a small smile.

"Come on, Rika. Let's go pick something up and think of a battleplan before we get to school."

Rika eyed him curiously for a moment before a small grin touched the corners of her lips and she got to her feet to join him, hand in hand.

Together.

"We'll face the music again," she said confidently, giving his hand a soft squeeze, one that was lovingly returned.


	3. Chapter 3

Takato and Guilmon exited Rika's home with the fire-haired girl behind them, bag slung over her shoulder and eyes half-closed in quiet contemplation. The boy's words with her grandmother echoed in her mind; that they would face the music together, just as they did before when their families found them sleeping together. It was one thing to say, though she was glad to hear Takato speak so confidently about it, but at the same time, execution was quite another thing altogether.

"You okay?" Takato asked as the girl fell into step beside him.

"Fine enough," Rika shrugged nonchalantly. "I just wish that the whole world would stop making our lives so complicated. I like what we do together, and…" She paused, blushed at the double-meaning to her words, and continued. "…and that should be enough. It's not like we're being reckless about everything."

Smiling softly, Takato slipped his hand into Rika's, matching his pace with hers.

"Yeah, but it's a parent's job to worry, right? Maybe one day, we'll be just like them, worrying about what our kids are doing."

Rika felt butterflies flutter in her stomach at the mention of having children and she glanced at Takato out of the corner of her eye, the memory of their night's romp flitting through her mind. It was clear, in spite of Takato's bright blush, that he remembered it as well ( _How could he forget?_ she found herself wondering sarcastically), but she knew him well enough to know that he would stand by his words.

Rika adjusted her grip on her bag, ignoring the dampness between her legs, a relic of their earlier attempts to clean her out from the night's fun.

_We could be parents someday,_ she thought, and she tightened her grip around Takato's hand reflexively. _Probably a lot sooner if we keep fooling around like this._

"Maybe," she admitted finally. "But I'm in no hurry to be one right now. Anyway, shouldn't we be coming up with a plan to talk to our families again about us? Or did you just want to hold hands the whole way?"

"I kind of like the idea of us holding hands," the boy beamed with a chuckle, and Rika muttered _Gogglehead_ behind a blush in response.

"You're so cheesy," she grumbled. "But I'm serious."

"So am I," Takato said, giving her hand a soft squeeze. "Okay, I'm not the best at coming up with ideas or thinking out battleplans. I…kind of just wing it a lot of the time. But I think that as long as we show them that we know what we're in for, things should be all right."

Rika furrowed her brow at that.

"You have no idea how naïve you sound sometimes, you know that?" she asked sarcastically.

"I get that," Takato replied, a slight frown crossing his features. "But the cat is out of the bag now. It's been out of the bag for a while."

His red-eyes took on a distant look to them as he gazed down the path ahead, his expression thoughtful.

"Maybe I should look into getting a part-time job outside of the bakery."

Rika lifted an eyebrow at that.

"Takato, your school doesn't even _allow_ you to do that."

"Only if they find out. I'm going to be 18 in a couple months, and it would be a good idea to have a little extra money handy in case something _does_ happen because we…you know."

Takato's face turned bright scarlet as he glanced back at Rika, and the girl found herself shifting her grip on her bag once more, knowing what he meant all too well.

"A-And it'd prove to our families that we know what we're in for too," the boy continued, stammering a little as the heat baked across his brain. "Come on. It's not _that_ bad an idea. What about you? Do you have any ideas?"

Rika paused mentally on his idea, rolling it around in her mind for a moment.

_Getting a job, huh? We're at that age, and I'm already eighteen. I don't want to have to depend on my family for everything._

She tried to imagine herself still living with her mother and grandmother. It would be fine, she supposed, if she were a Tamer in some official capacity to Hypnos, but at present that remained to be seen. If she couldn't depend on it, she would need to come up with an alternate plan, which was the point of their current topic.

Her eyes narrowed in thought, and she found herself squeezing Takato's hand a little bit tighter.

_Funny how our relationship has changed so much about our lives. It's almost like we're talking about getting married._

_Married…_

An image came to mind of her wearing a long, white dress – the one she saw her mother wear in pictures of her wedding day – and Takato, wearing a nice, dark suit and tie. At once, scarlet invaded her cheeks and she found herself all but crushing Takato's hand in her grasp.

"Ah… Ow… Rika… That hurts…"

"Sorry," she mumbled apologetically, quickly releasing her grip.

"What happened?" the boy asked worriedly, shaking his hand to get the circulation running again. "You looked like you were thinking of something…um…embarrassing."

"It's nothing," Rika grunted, adjusting her bag on her shoulder as they reached a corner. "Forget it. Besides, isn't _this_ where you should turn off to go to school now?"

Takato blinked in confusion. "I kind of thought I'd walk to your school first before heading off. I mean, I thought we were going to get a bite to eat and brainstorm ideas for talking to our parents…"

"I already told you I'm _not_ letting the girls at my school get their eyes on you," Rika said fiercely. "If you don't want me hurting anyone, then you'll stay as _far_ away from my school as you can."

Takato tilted his head to one side questioningly, sensing that there was more going on with her behavior than she was letting on. He knew though that when she became squirrely like this, it would take some time for her to settle down before she could open up.

"Well, what about getting something to eat at least," he said, offering the girl a smile. "We could kind of make it a date. There's a nice place that sells…"

"Takato."

Reaching up, the girl settled her hands on the boy's shoulders and she leaned forward. Their lips met, and for a moment, there was only the soft warmth of their love for one another. Instinctively, Takato's hand rose up, gliding boldly along her hip and up her back before she pulled away.

"We'll talk later," Rika said, her violet eyes gazing into his warm, red ones. "After school at Guilmon's old place. Just don't be late, got it?"

"I promise to the sunset," Takato smiled, giving her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth. "But…are you sure you don't…?"

"Go to school, Takato," Rika said, stepping away, a small smile curving on her lips. Before either of them could say anything further however, an alarm sounded on their digivices, signaling that a digimon was bio-emerging into the real world, and at once both teens whipped them out, holographic circles rising from their screens, the compass function swinging around wildly to locate the source. Behind them, Guilmon rose up on his haunches, wing-like ears twitching, yet oddly he remained calm, quite unlike his normal behavior whenever a wild digimon breached the barriers between the worlds.

"Guilmon?" Takato asked, Renamon phasing into view behind Rika, appearing as battle-ready as she could in her current condition.

"I smell…" Guilmon tested the air with a few sniffs before frowning. "I don't know. But it's small, whatever it is."

"Must be small," Rika said, glancing down at the receding holographic circles. "Our digivices have stopped complaining. Either that or Yamaki already took care of it. Renamon?"

"I sense nothing," the vulpine digimon replied with a shake of her head before wincing at the action. "However, I must confess that I am not in the best position to confirm whether a digimon has entered our world or not."

One paw rose up to her head, and she grimaced noticeably. Rika gave her partner a sympathetic look. It would appear that the kitsune was a long way from recovering from her alcoholic binge with her mother.

_Kami, mother…_

"Well, it doesn't look like it's a problem now, so we should get going."

Fixing Takato with a hard look, she reached out and jabbed a finger into his breast bone.

"Don't be late," she repeated with a soft smile before stepping away and heading off, Renamon vanishing from view as she did so. Takato watched her go for a moment before Guilmon nudged him with a claw.

"Takato? You're going to break your promise if you keep standing there, watching her."

The teen gave a light laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Right. I'll see you later, Guilmon. Hopefully my parents won't be too freaked out. Uh… Wait, how were they when you were with them last night? The way Rika's grandmother sounded, they were pretty upset."

"I…think they were a little upset?" Guilmon said questioningly, scratching at his chin with one claw. "I don't know. I was paying attention to Renamon, and the stuff we were drinking made me feel so sleepy…"

Guilmon sighed, a smile drawing across his face.

"Renamon's lap is so soft and fuzzy. And warm…"

"I think that's my cue to get out of here," Takato chuckled in embarrassment, starting off with a wave. "I'll see you later, Guilmon."

"Hah? Oh, okay. Bye."

Waving a claw at his departing partner, Guilmon watched him go for a moment before sniffing the air once more, testing for the scent from whatever it was that had bio-emerged earlier. He could smell something, though it was faint and difficult to pinpoint. Without much else to do, he decided to see if he could track it down before heading down to the new bakery.

_It might be important,_ he thought, questing off down the streets and in the direction of the park.

**###**

As Guilmon and Takato parted ways, a dark-haired girl wearing a blue hairclip stepped into view from an alleyway, dark-eyes following them. Her lips, a pale pink twisted into a pout and her fingers took a handful of the skirt of her school uniform, the same as Rika's, clutching it tightly before releasing it. Her eyes flitted back and forth between the dinosaur and the human, as if trapped by indecision. Finally however, after what felt like an eternity to the girl, she adjusted her grip on her school bag and hurried after Guilmon, keeping a careful distance so as to not be seen.

**###**

Guilmon made his way through the brush of the park, snuffling dirt and air as he went. The scent was becoming stronger now. Without a doubt, there most definitely was something here, and had not been cleaned up by Yamaki, as Rika surmised. Continuing along, he found that it took him to the stairwell that led up to his old home. Smiling, he hurried up their length, his digi-core pulsing with excitement.

_Could it be…?_ he thought, his thoughts going back to the time that he discovered a digital portal beneath his old home. It wasn't a portal of course, as it didn't smell like it, but the smell combined with the location was so…nostalgic.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he found the last remnants of the digital field dissipating. Pulling open the gate, his ears twitching at the sound of the familiar creak of the old iron, he looked down and found an egg sitting there, a pair of green rings at its top. Bending down, he lifted it up and gave it a good sniff. The egg was warm, and buzzed with a light electric feeling. It felt very cozy in his hands, and it felt as though he were hugging an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hi," he greeted it happily. "My name is Guilmon. What's your name?"

The egg, of course, had no response for him. Cradling it in his arms, he considered it, wondering what to do. Takato wasn't here to help him figure out how to handle this. The possibility of taking it to Hypnos was there, but was that a good idea? Was it the right thing to do?

_Renamon will know._

Yes. That sounded about right. Renamon always knew the right thing to do about _everything._

Turning, he darted out of his old hut and down the stairs, clutching the egg close to him. Renamon would help. The thought burned in him with utter certainty. There was nothing she couldn't do.

**###**

The girl hid behind a tree as Guilmon dashed down the bottom of the stairs and took off at a rapid pace down the path. Her dark-eyes widened as she saw what he was holding. Her lips parted, as if to call out to the red dinosaur, only to hesitate.

That hesitation was all the time Guilmon needed to be out of earshot of the girl. Clutching her bag close to her, she chewed on her lip for a moment, her legs shaking, before she finally summoned her courage and ran after the dinosaur.

"Takato…" she whispered in a fearful, panicky voice, doing her best to keep the crimson reptile in sight as she raced down the park path in pursuit of both dinosaur and egg.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ayano Maki."

Rika sighed over the latest name of the role call as she sat at her desk, already wishing that this day was done and over with. Thoughts of dealing with her mother and Takato's parents flitted through her mind and she scowled outwardly. The idea of having to justify their relationship and what they did in it _again_ only served to irritate her.

"Ayano Maki doesn't appear to be here," sighed the teacher before continuing. "Very well. Rika Nonaka?"

"Here," Rika replied, raising a hand before dropping it almost as quickly, returning her attention to her conversation with Takato. His talk about getting a job _was_ sensible, she had to admit, though she doubted that he could afford the trouble it would cause him if his school ever caught wind of it. _She_ could get away with it, with her mother being a famous model, leaving her to wonder if that would be the better alternative so that they could set aside some 'just in case' money until Takato graduated.

_Would he be okay with that though?_ she found herself wondering, knotting her brow together. _Or his parents? My family's already done so much for them, and they were squirrely about accepting help just for a place to live. Would they think that I'm going to always support Takato like he's helpless or something? Would Takato think that?_

Clenching her fists together, she closed her eyes, again wishing that everything wasn't so complicated. She just wanted to share her life with Takato and to be there for him when he needed it, just as he would with her, as she knew to the bottom of her heart that he would, no matter the personal cost to himself. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself.

_Well… It's all stuff we can talk about when it comes time to talk. I wonder what kind of job I should look for?_

An idea of working for Takato's parents came to mind, partly as a means of helping them out as well as to show she could be responsible as well, but she couldn't be sure if they would go for that with how awkward things were at the moment. She wasn't even sure if it would be a good idea working for them when they knew they were having sex.

_Wonder if I should do a bit of modeling after all,_ she thought with a bit of a grimace. She hated the idea, but she had to admit that there _was_ good money to be made in it, which would be good to have handy if she and her lover-boy ended up becoming parents, not to mention it would be fairly easy to get into, even without her mother's influence. The problem however lay in the fact that she didn't like modeling in the least and that her mother's influence would likely have a great deal to do with her getting such work, taking away her desire to make her own way in life.

Shifting on her seat, she glanced down at her belly, imagining it with a slight bump from the presence of new life growing within. Life that could be growing there even now for all she knew. Lifting one hand, she placed it on her stomach, massaging it with her thumb.

Quietly, she realized the kinds of personal sacrifices people made when they took on the responsibility of being a parent.

_Mom… Is this what you went through when you were pregnant with me?_

She wished all the more that the end of the school day would get here quickly.

**###**

Ayano Maki trailed after Guilmon as he made his way down the streets, the job proving to be considerably harder than she expected as the crimson dinosaur hurried along at a rapid pace, and before too long she found herself panting and breathless, her legs no longer shaking from nerves, but now from sheer exhaustion.

_I can't…I can't keep this up for much longer,_ she thought, yet she forced her legs to push her ahead regardless. That egg… She _had_ to get that egg.

"H-Hey…" she whispered hoarsely, planting one hand on a wall to help keep herself going, a bead of sweat crawling down her face. "D-Digimon…I…I mean _Guilmon…_ Wait… Wait please…"

_Yell, stupid…_ she berated herself. _Just…yell out to him! Breathe… Breathe and yell… Why won't you yell…?_

But she couldn't. She was too out of breath and too anxious. Although she knew that the digimon belonged to the Tamer, Takato, she had no idea what to say to it. It was…scary looking as well in spite of the sweet nature she sometimes observed at the bakery, something that was a bit off-putting for her.

All the same however, she _needed_ that egg.

Tightening her fingers around the hem of her skirt, Ayano bit her lower lip and forced herself to keep going. Even if she couldn't call out, she _would_ keep going after the dinosaur until she got close enough and found her courage.

She just wished that courage would come a little faster.

Continuing to follow the dinosaur down the street, she paused as she took notice of him coming to a halt, testing the air with his nose. His golden eyes dropped in her direction and she froze for a second before backing up into a wall of golden fur.

Ayano's scream scorched Renamon's hangover-burdened ears before the girl fainted from her scare.

**###**

"That…hurt…" Renamon groaned, catching the girl with one paw before she could fall very far. Trotting up to the vulpine digimon, Guilmon smiled happily at seeing her.

"Renamon!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I was just about to see you! Ah…" Glancing down briefly at the girl, he looked back up at the kitsune questioningly. "But…who's that? She's wearing Rika's uniform."

"Softer," Renamon hushed, massaging her still-splitting head. "Softer."

"Ah…okay," Guilmon nodded in a hushed whisper, his tail wagging in both concern and happiness. "So who is she?"

"She attends Rika's school, I would assume," Renamon said, lifting the girl up into her arms and giving her a quick inspection. "She bears the same crest on her uniform."

She turned her gaze toward Guilmon thoughtfully.

"She was following you for some reason."

As Renamon's azure eyes dropped down to the egg the dinosaur held gingerly in his claws, Guilmon presented it to her.

"Maybe it's because of this? It's what Takato and Rika's digivices detected earlier. I found it in my old home and thought you might know what to do with it."

His golden eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him.

"Maybe she's its partner? Maybe we're getting a new teammate?"

"Hmmm…" Renamon furrowed her brow at the egg. "Perhaps," she said carefully. Even through her muddled senses however, she could tell that this egg didn't feel quite like a digimon egg should. Close, but not quite.

"Well, we should get them somewhere they can be safe until the girl wakes up and explains a few things to us."

"Rika's grandmother will know what to do about that!" Guilmon said confidently, causing a small smile to light up on Renamon's face. It wasn't a bad idea to have the girl awaken somewhere that wouldn't alarm her. The presence of the elder matriarch would also be of benefit as well, and as she had wisdom herself, she could help with determining their next course of action regarding the girl, if not the egg.

_That though should be better reserved for Hypnos,_ she thought, needing little advice for that.

Before either digimon could begin anything else, the girl shifted and moaned out one word, or rather a name.

"Takato…"

The egg shook softly in Guilmon's claws, as if in response. However, the dinosaur, having heard his partner's name escape from the girl's lips, had other matters on his mind.

"Ohhh… Rika was right about not wanting her classmates seeing Takatomon. I hope Rika doesn't hurt her like she promised."

Renamon regarded the girl with a slight frown before starting forward.

"Let's get our guests home," she said before vanishing from sight. Guilmon's ears twitched before the shaking of the egg brought his attention back to it.

"Don't worry," he said to it, holding it close to his chest. "I'll make sure you're nice and warm and have _lots_ of food ready for when you hatch."

With that, the crimson reptile dashed off, heading toward Rika's home.

**###**

_Last night was a bad idea…_

The thought ran through Rumiko's mind as she applied her makeup to her face, trying desperately to ignore the still throbbing pain of her hangover, a result of her interrogation of Renamon and her potential feelings about Guilmon. Not that she thought talking to the vulpine digimon about that particular topic was a bad idea – the idea of Renamon being in love with the partner of her daughter's boyfriend was _fascinating_ to her – but the use of four bottles to get even a miniscule amount of information out of her had been rough on the both of them. If the Matsuki's hadn't turned in early…

Uncapping her lipstick, she paused, remembering when Mie had become suspicious of their son not returning from escorting Rika to her room. It didn't take a genius to guess what the two teens got up to once out of the supervision of their families, and with the deed already finished between the two then sleeping teens – never mind that they had sex numerous times previously – there was little to do about it, save perhaps give them a stern talking to the next day.

Rumiko winced and groaned, leaning against the sink.

_Last night was a bad idea… Am I a bad mother? Rika's on birth control, and I'm sure Takato… Well, he's shown himself to be a responsible young man, but he's never gotten even a little bit tipsy before. And…neither has Rika._

She had an idea that however responsible the two were under normal circumstances, the likelihood of being _irresponsible_ during their lovemaking went up with their intoxication. She knew that quite well, having been in such situations a few times herself. And the risk of pregnancy, she knew, ran high in her family.

_At least Rika has protection,_ she thought, relaxing her grip on the sink before returning to the task of applying her lipstick. She wanted to look better than she felt, and she wasn't about to let a little hangover stop her from that.

_If only that stupid aspirin would kick in already…_

"How are you feeling, Rumiko?" came Seiko's voice from behind the bathroom door, a light knock signaling her respect for the woman's privacy. "You've been in there for a while now."

"Just putting my face on," Rumiko replied before swallowing a curse, the lipstick sliding off her mouth and onto her cheek as she spoke. "Damn it… Messed that up. I must be getting old. Are the Matsuki's still here?"

"They left a little bit after Takato and Rika did," Seiko said from behind the door as Mie quickly washed her mouth off.

"Thank goodness," Rumiko sighed. "After last night, I'm not sure if I can face them again. I mean, I know I will again, eventually, but this soon…"

"I'm sure things will be fine. You worry too much."

"Mom, their son and my daughter had drunk sex down the hall from where we were drinking. I think I have _plenty_ to worry about."

"I seem to recall you doing that more than once yourself."

_"Mother…"_ Rumiko groaned, leaning into the sink as her head throbbed and pulsated painfully. The door clicked open, and Seiko entered. Making her way over to where Rumiko stood, she placed a hand on her back, massaging it gently. Rumiko stood like that for a moment before heaving a sigh.

"You used to do that a lot when I was a little girl."

"It seemed to help," Seiko smiled behind her, continuing her ministrations. Rumiko gave a light laugh.

"It did a lot," she admitted, remembering all the times that she would get upset and cry herself into hiccupping. "It kind of did now too."

She gave her mother a wan smile.

"Kind of silly, isn't it? I haven't changed a bit."

"You've changed more than you think," Seiko replied with a smile. "Wine may age well or not, but it doesn't change its original nature."

"I can't believe you're comparing me to wine," Rumiko laughed.

"Considering the events of last night, I thought it was appropriate, and a good way to get a laugh out of you."

Rumiko gave another light giggle before sobering up, remembering her daughter and her deep love with the son of bakers.

"I hope things go well for them," she said. "I mean it. For everyone of course, but my daughter and their son… I want them to do well."

Tightening her hand around her lipstick, she continued.

"Mie's right. They're still so young."

"Most children their age don't save the world or do half the things they did when they were younger," Seiko pointed out. "And how long can we shield them from the world or themselves? Even fledgling birds have to fly eventually."

"I've heard that before," Rumiko chuckled, barking a nervous laugh. Sighing at her and her mother's reflection, she straightened herself out. "Well, I'm not getting anything done just standing here feeling worried about everything. I've got to get going to work."

Turning around, she gave her mother a loving hug.

"I'll see you tonight."

"Try not to stay out too late, dear," Seiko said with a light chuckle. Rumiko returned it and squeezed her mother a little tighter.

"I'll do my best. I want to make sure Rika's doing all right. Until then."

With that, the two women parted, and Rumiko headed off toward the porch. Slipping into her shoes, she had just enough time to get halfway down the walk to the gate before Renamon materialized out of thin air, bearing a girl that wore a _very_ familiar school uniform, almost causing Rumiko's heart to stop in her chest, thinking that Rika had met with some horrible accident, until she saw that the girl in question, both in hair and appearance, did not match her daughter.

"R-Renamon…" she breathed in surprise. "What…? Who…?"

"A goods question," the vulpine digimon replied. "One that we need help answering. She was stalking Takato's partner. He will be here momentarily."

Rumiko gave the girl a brief glance before nodding.

"We'll lay her down in the living room," she said, starting back toward the porch. "Mother! We have company! We need a futon!"

**###**

"She feels all right," Seiko said, pressing a hand against the girl's forehead. "No temperature, and her breathing is normal." She glanced up at Renamon with an amused, though relieved, smile. "You must have given her quite the scare, teleporting behind her like that. Honestly, Renamon. I thought better of you than that."

"I'm sorry," the vulpine digimon replied with a surprising look of embarrassment. "As I explained, I found her following Guilmon and…"

The kitsune trailed off, and her tail slashed through the air in agitation. Seiko eyed this with a look of bemusement before shaking her head.

"Well, I'm sure you had your reasons, but if you were trying to protect Guilmon, I would advise against scaring young girls in the future unless they're _actually_ trying to threaten him."

Renamon's tail flicked anxiously through the air in response.

"So, what are we going to do?" Guilmon asked, rubbing the top of the egg he still held. Seiko and Renamon both glanced at him, and after a moment, the woman climbed to her feet with a slight grunt.

"She attends Rika's school, so I should contact them and see if they can get in touch with her family. She's fine, so there's no real reason to call a police officer or the hospital. However, the egg… That seems like it would require someone's attention."

She furrowed her brow thoughtfully before continuing, "I wonder where I put Hypnos' phone number…"

"Perhaps it would be best if I were to deliver the egg to Hypnos," Renamon said, rising to her feet as well. "It would be faster."

"But what if the egg belongs to the girlmon and she was looking for it?" Guilmon asked, setting the egg down at the foot of the futon. "She had to be following me because of that, right?"

Renamon frowned. "Perhaps… But I'm not so certain. She said your partner's name while I was holding her. Perhaps she followed you for a different reason."

"What would it hurt to make sure?" Seiko asked, stepping out of the room. "Which reminds me, we should probably get something to keep it warm. Digimon eggs need to be warm, right?"

"I'm…not a mother," Renamon replied, massaging her forehead as she followed the Hata woman out of the room, Guilmon trailing after her. "I lived alone for most of my life until I came to this world, and spent much of it fighting. Keeping track of eggs was not at the top of my priorities."

Seiko hummed to herself as she approached a desk and began to sort through its contents. "Well, then this will be a learning experience for all of us."

**###**

_"Did you get the egg?"_

_"I…I…"_

_The girl could only stare at her computer screen, her face fraught with terror. She didn't want to say it. Didn't want to tell the voice on the other end how badly she had messed up. How she had failed to retrieve the egg and how it ended up in the hands of the Tamers. The voice, hearing her hesitation, sensed straight away her failure, and when it spoke, anger rose up in their tone._

_"You lost it?!" it railed at her, and although it was a mechanical voice, she could hear the fury barely contained on the other end. "After_ all _the effort we put into getting it here for you, you_ lost _it?!"_

_Black zeroes and ones swarmed over the computer screen before merging together, leaving nothing more than a void behind. The computer shook and shuddered, and the screen cracked. The darkness within spilled outward, forming into two, dark pools… Eyes, that stared straight at her, and when the voice next spoke, it was with a single word._

"Mon?"

Ayano blinked as her dream faded and she found a small, pink ball with a mop of brown fuzz, beneath which were two dark-red eyes staring at her curiously from atop her chest. She blinked again in confusion, not at all sure what she was staring at…though a part of her had a sneaking suspicion.

"Mon?" it chirped again in a voice that was very much like a baby. Ayano's heart fluttered and she carefully reached up, clasping her hands around the tiny thing.

"What…?" she whispered shakily, half afraid that this too was a dream, and that she might break it at any moment. Instead however, the tiny creature snuggled up against her and began to purr happily at her embrace. Tears brimming in the girl's eyes, she cuddled it close.

"Takato…" she whispered happily, and the tiny creature purred even louder.

"Mon…" it replied.

Ayano sat like that for a moment before taking stock of her surroundings. She was in a house; what appeared to be a traditionally-styled home, seated on a futon with the remains of an egg lying at her feet. She wracked her brains trying to remember how she might have gotten to wherever she was now. The last thing that came to mind was Takato's digimon turning toward her, and then her backing up into…

_Oh no…_ Her _digimon!_

Panic shot through Ayano like a flash of lightning, and at once the girl was on her feet. She had to get out of here! _Now!_

Snatching up her school bag, which had been lying just near the futon, she took off at a run, whispering a quick apology to the house for still wearing her shoes inside it. It didn't take her long to find an exit and aim for it, and within short order she was out on the streets, bag and digimon in hand, and just like that, she was gone, all exhaustion forgotten in her _need_ to escape.

How long she ran, she didn't know, but eventually, she found herself leaning heavily against the wall of a house – not hers, but she didn't care – breathing heavily, her lungs billowing as she drew in huge gulps of air into them to satisfy her burning need for oxygen.

"Mon?" squeaked the tiny ball of brown and pink as it peeked out from within her arms. Her breathing settling a little, she took a quick look around and lifted it up to her face, gazing into the warm, crimson depths of its eyes before smiling and cuddling it close to her face.

"Takatomon…" she said, lovingly nuzzling the creature with her cheek as it purred at her. 


	5. Chapter 5

Kazu grinned wolfishly as he turned the magazine over, a folded piece of a much larger page within slipping out. The teen nodded to himself, clearly appreciating its contents. It wasn't hard to determine what he was looking at; the front page was splashed with a well-endowed woman covering her chest, an enticing, saucy smile gracing her luscious lips. Takato didn't need to look further than that, and though he said nothing about his own admitted curiosity, he kept it to himself. Kazu was more than happy to enforce this.

_"You're with Rika now,"_ he had told him in a sage tone, once upon a time. _"You need to stay loyal to her."_

"Kentaaa," the boy drawled, leaning over to their dark-haired, bespectacled friend. "Check this one out."

"Kazu…!" Kenta flushed with embarrassment, his eyes flicking back and forth anxiously between the papers in front of him and the magazine Kazu was pressing in his direction. "We're supposed to be… Ah!"

His blush darkening mightily at the sight of the image and he hurriedly snatched the magazine away, Kazu grinning the whole while.

_"Studying!"_ Kenta rasped, fumbling about as he folded the magazine up and desperately hid it within one of the notebooks. "We're supposed to be _studying!"_

"Easy there, Chumley," Kazu chuckled as Kenta buried the notebook containing the incriminating evidence beneath one of their textbooks. "You look like you're going to burst a blood vessel."

_"Anybody_ would with…with…" Kenta trailed off, unable to say it out loud before finally groaning and burying his face in his hands. "Oh kami… Why can't there be more girls like that?"

Takato and Kazu both raised an eyebrow at this, neither quite sure how to respond to that. It was no secret that Kenta was a bit… _frustrated_ to say the least when it came to the opposite sex. With the help of MarineAngemon, he had no trouble attracting their attention, however the attention wasn't the sort that he wanted. MarineAngemon stood largely at the center of their focus, whereas he had the appearance of a hanger on. Not being particularly handsome – especially with his face's habit of breaking out with a massive amount of acne every so often – and having a squeaky, high-pitched, whiny-sounding voice, few girls looked his way. His being a Tamer who regularly put his life on the line against wild digimon didn't seem to help his physical flaws get overlooked. Not when he stood in the shadow of people like Henry, Kazu, or Ryo.

_Or even me, I guess,_ Takato thought, scratching at the side of his head with a pencil. A part of him wanted to say something, comfort him about how there's always someone out there for everyone, or to tell him that what he found in Kazu's magazine should not be used as a benchmark for a relationship, but he had an idea that in his depression, Kenta would throw it back in his face, reminding him that he not only was _in_ a relationship, but also with the prettiest girl any of them knew.

Feeling a touch awkward about that knowledge, especially with everything _else_ the two of them did since getting together, he couldn't help but wonder what it was that Rika saw in him before brushing the thought aside.

"Um… Anyway," he began, opting to break the atmosphere that had developed between them. "Kenta's right. We _are_ supposed to be studying. Mr. Motomiya gave us a free period for that after all."

"I'm just taking a break," Kazu said with a smirk, folding his arms behind his head. "We have the day to do it anyway and no one else is going to be using our club room. Take Terriermon's advice and momentai already."

Takato sighed, wishing Kazu wouldn't be so cavalier about _their_ club room. The school entrusted them with its proper use after all, especially since they were given rather special treatment by the school to form a 'Digimon Research' club to help assist them with their duties as Tamers. But just because they were given that kind of leeway, didn't mean they could abuse it. Kazu risked quite a bit just bringing in such a magazine onto school grounds.

But that was, after all, typical Kazu.

"You know, Kazu," Takato began. "Sometimes I wonder if you take this stuff seriously."

"Eh?" Kazu cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Of course I take it seriously. What makes you think I'm not?"

"Well…" Takato glanced in the direction where the magazine was hidden indicatively before frowning up at him. "It's…stuff like that. I mean, you know the school rules…"

"We help save the world," Kazu replied, waving a hand dismissively. "If they have a problem with that, they can bite me. Let it go, Chumley. My grades are decent and I'm not a serious troublemaker. I think I can bring in a porno mag every once in a while."

"Takato's doing better than you are," Kenta pointed out.

"Chumley's got Rika tutoring him." Kazu lifted a thoughtful eyebrow at the brunette before a grin split across his face once more. "Is she why you're suddenly moody? Fewer opportunities to cuddle with her now that you're moving into your new place?"

"T-That's not…" Takato's face flushed as emotion exploded within him, remembering all their times shared together, in her futon and out of it; the physical passions and the emotional. Seeing this, Kazu's grin grew even wider and he pointed at him teasingly.

"Yeah. You do. Go on. Check your cellphone again. Maybe she finally messaged you back since the thirtieth time you've looked."

"I haven't checked my phone _that_ much," Takato grumbled, resisting the urge to check it. He had messaged her after he got to school to check in on her, but he had yet to receive an answer. He didn't want to be bothered by it. He didn't expect her to reply straight away, or at any point really until the end of the day, as school rules governing the use of cellphones were strict whether it was his or hers, but after all those long months of being in close proximity to the girl, he couldn't help but feel a touch disoriented; as though he had been tied off and cast adrift into the ocean for the first time in his life.

_Tonight's going to be weird,_ he thought, thinking about how they no longer had an easy opportunity to be next to each other like before. The memory of her warm body pressing against his; the sight of her strands of hair falling across her restful face; the sound of her light breathing… She had become a kind of comfort for him at night that helped him rest easier just by her presence. She seemed to feel much the same way, as she tended to ask for his presence the most when it came time to bed down at night. Takato's gaze softened, becoming distant as a small smile drew across his face, thinking of those peaceful nights and their shared warmth.

"Hey! Earth to Chumley!" The snap of a finger broke him out of his reverie, and Takato blinked in surprise.

"Ah…huh?"

"Glad to see you're still in there, bud," Kazu said while next to him, Kenta adjusted his glasses, frowning at him in thought. "You got all weird on us. Like you were daydreaming or something." He smirked again. "Thinking about Rika, I take it?"

"I bet he's _always_ thinking about Rika now," Kenta said, a touch of bitterness in his voice. Before Takato, or any of them could say or do anything else, the door to the room clicked open, and in walked Henry, Jeri and Ayaka close behind him.

"Hey guys," the half-Chinese Tamer said tiredly, making his way over to a spot next to Takato and all but slumping into it, earning him a raised eyebrow from his friends.

"Uh… Are you okay?" Kenta asked, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "You look pretty out of it today."

"More so than usual," Kazu observed. "I thought you weren't going to spend any more all-nighters studying since you almost crashed and burned last year."

"That's…my fault," Jeri said with a touch of embarrassment, causing all eyebrows of the three boys to lift in surprise at this.

"Damn, Jeri," Kazu chuckled. "Chumley. You lucked out getting together with Rika. Jeri would have killed you by now."

"Huh?" Jeri blinked in confusion before suddenly blushing brightly as the meaning of Kazu's words hit her full force. "Oh! N-No! I-It's not like that!"

"It totally is," Ayaka snorted, setting her bag down on the table next to Kazu, shoving his things aside to give her some room. "Don't try to deny it. You know what you did."

"Do we…want to know?" Takato asked, adjusting his seat as Jeri settled down next to Henry, patting his back comfortingly. Oddly, Takato felt a slight pang of jealousy at the sight of the friendly gesture. He frowned at himself now. Old feelings, even as ghosts, could still have a presence it seemed.

"It's…nothing really," Jeri clarified as Henry's chin dipped down to his chest, the boy seemingly about ready to fall asleep in his seat. "Last night, I called him to ask about computers since my stepmother thinks it would be a good idea for the tavern. It went on from there, and then…well…"

"Long story short," Ayaka interrupted, "Henry took Jeri shopping for computer parts and then spent all night building one for her. He hasn't had a wink of sleep since."

"Uh… Yeah. What…What she said," Jeri laughed, embarrassed about the whole ordeal. "I _told_ him he didn't have to, but…"

Henry made a mumbling noise in interruption, his head struggling to right itself, only to fail utterly in the attempt.

"Not for nothing," Kazu chuckled. "But isn't that considered lovemaking for computer nerds? I think you found a way into his heart, Jeri."

Jeri _eeped_ at that _,_ clasping her hands to her mouth as a bright blush bloomed across her cheeks. Kazu could only snicker in delight at seeing the girl become flustered. Ayaka, for her part, simply glowered at him and, without missing a beat, reached over and took out the notebook Kenta had hastily tried to hide, turning it on its side and hanging it loosely by one end, allowing the porn magazine contained within to slide out and fall on the table between them.

"Ah!" Kenta gasped, scrambling toward it.

"Belongs to the jerk teasing Jeri," the copper-haired girl said to Kenta, continuing to fix the taller boy with a hard look. "As if you would have the guts to bring something like this in. Now apologize to her, Kazu, or I'll report you to the class rep."

Kazu sighed, but continued to keep on grinning.

"Jeri knows that I don't mean anything by it," he said before winking at her. "But if she wants, I'll take her out on a date as an apology."

_"Kazu!"_ Jeri blushed even harder as Ayaka's eyes widened in horror.

"You are _never_ dating her if _I_ have anything to say about it!" the copper-haired girl growled, stabbing a pencil in his direction.

"Wow, it sure hurts being so popular," Kazu laughed, folding his arms behind his back while leaning away from Ayaka's threatening gesture.

"Will you all knock it off?" Henry said, his voice muffling as his face collapsed into his arms on the table. "Some of us are trying to…sleep…"

Silence reigned briefly in the room at the sight of their resident computer expert crashing just like that. Smiling, Takato patted him on the shoulder, grateful that Terriermon wasn't here to ruin such a moment.

"We'll be quiet, I promise," he said. Across from him, Ayaka leaned forward, glaring menacingly at Kazu.

"You are _not_ dating Jeri," she whispered harshly. With a slight chuckle at his friends' antics, he checked his phone once more, away from Kazu's prying eyes, for any response from Rika.

_Still nothing,_ he thought, wondering and worrying about how Rika was doing and wishing all the while that he was by her side.

**###**

The fire-haired girl made her way down the streets, azure eyes flashing in the day's sun as a small, tiny fox tail swished in slight agitation behind her, while at her side, Guilmon strode, nose sniffing the air.

"Anything?" Renamon asked, planting a hand on her hip.

"Yep," Guilmon nodded to the kitsune, pointing a claw down an alleyway. "Down this way."

Renamon nodded and started forward, grateful that they were starting to make headway in locating the girl who had fled Rika's home, bearing a freshly-hatched (if the egg shells were any indication) baby digimon. She wished they could move faster, but as good a tracker as she was, Guilmon was far better with his nose alone, necessitating that they move about more slowly to properly differentiate fresh scents from old. The human girl was no doubt one of Rika's schoolmates and moved about the city with regularity. Locating her would not be easy, even for her, and while she could move more easily, Guilmon would have a harder time doing so by himself.

Fortunately, few people paid him close mind as long as he was accompanied by a 'human.'

_Kohenkyo… Quite useful in spite of its current flaws,_ she thought, ignoring the presence of her shrunken tail as it twitched behind her. _I wonder… If I could somehow apply it to Guilmon as well as myself, would the humans around us think we're on a date?_

Renamon paused on the curious thought for a moment before brushing it off with a shake of her head. It wouldn't do to have such distractions right now.

_The hangover must still be affecting me,_ she mused, placing a hand atop Guilmon's head and stroking it gently, causing the crimson-scaled dinosaur to turn a curious eye up at her.

"Renamon?" he asked tentatively, to which she shook her head.

"Continue looking, Guilmon," she said. "And remember, while I'm like this, it's _Rena."_

"Ah… Yeah. Right," he nodded before planting his nose close to the ground once more and giving it a sniff. "This way."

They continued onward like so in silence, Renamon ignoring the odd looks that they both received, a part of her wondering if it had to do with Guilmon's presence, or the tiny tail that poked out from above her simulated jeans.

_I will have to work on improving on my disguise,_ she thought.

Eventually, they came to a halt in front of a gated house similar to Rika's home, though smaller in size.

"This is where she went?" Renamon asked Guilmon. The reptile nodded.

"I'm pretty sure. I smell her scent around here and it's pretty thick, like she comes and goes from here a lot. And I smell the weird digimon with her as well."

"Hmmm…" Renamon glanced around them in contemplation. There was a black van down the block. Hypnos no doubt, she suspected, as Seiko had reported the incident to Yamaki and the van had been trailing after them for quite some time since leaving the Nonaka residence. Taking hold of Guilmon by the arm, she pulled him down toward a nearby alleyway.

"Rena…?"

"I'm going in to investigate," she said as they rounded the corner. "But I need you out of sight while I'm gone." Turning, her true kitsune self materialized, replacing her human simulation. Her paw shifted, placing itself on the side of his face, where a claw stroked him. "Will you behave while I am gone?"

"I'll wait however long you need me to," Guilmon said, his golden eyes shining.

"No more than an hour," she clarified. "If, for some reason, I am unable to return, you are to find the others. Is that understood?"

"Do you think it will be that bad?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Perhaps not," Renamon shook her head. "But it's not a bad idea to be prepared just in case. Will you do this for me?"

"I… Okay," Guilmon replied reluctantly, and a small smile crossed Renamon's features.

"I'll be back," she said before vanishing from view.

Materializing atop the roof of the house, the vulpine digimon extended her senses. Guilmon's sense of smell was far greater than hers, but her hearing and stealth were leagues above his. There was no footfall that she couldn't hear; no breath that could escape her detection if she so chose. She could sense two of them, one of which was rather… _small._ Almost as though its owner were a diminutive creature.

_Found you,_ she thought, bounding down the dropped down into the yard. Scanning the surrounding area she quickly disappeared inside, following her ears, eventually appearing just outside of a door to, what she presumed to be, the bedroom belonging to the girl from earlier.

"…mon…" she heard from the other side.

**###**

"Well, so far all you can say is your name… Or 'mon,'" Ayano said, her feet kicking at the air as she lay on her belly, gazing at the ball of pink and brown as it gazed at her with adoring, dark-red eyes. She tilted her head to one side, smiling a little. "But I guess that's to be expected. I mean, you were _just_ born today."

Reaching out, she patted the tiny creature on his furry head, and it purred loudly, nuzzling against her hand as it did so.

"I wonder when you'll digivolve," she sighed. "The program was made so it wouldn't take too long, but…" She paused. Turning to the small plate sitting next to her, she took up a cake – bought from the Matsuki bakery – and broke off a piece for the tiny creature, who promptly gobbled it up.

"I'm going to see what the forum has to say. I'll be right back."

Getting up from her spot on the bed, she made her way over to her computer and quickly logged on. Opening her browser, she quickly typed in the address of her usual website, _Digital Searches,_ and entered her username and password.

_KnightMaiden306: Hey. The package came in today._

_DarkKingDD3: Hey! Awesome! So how is it!_

Ayano smiled, feeling a little bit better now as more responses came in, not as many as she would have liked, but as it was still a school day it was to be expected.

_KnightMaiden306: So far so good. I'm feeding it sweets. It seems very happy so far._

Suggestions and questions were now flooding her inbox, and she did her best to answer them. The fruits of their combined labors had come true. There was _nothing_ that could stop them now. Not even Hypnos…

Suddenly, there was a flash of light behind her, and Ayano turned to find the little ball enveloped in blazing light, its body growing, but only slightly, taking on a pair of pudgy arms and a fleshy ring surrounding the end of its waist. As the light died down, the eyes, more humanoid now, looked at her, beaming happily as a wide, lipless smile spread across its face.

"Mon!" it cried out, spreading its arms wide for a hug.

"Oh kami…" she whispered. "Takatomon digivolved."

**###**

Renamon pulled her head away from the door, her tail slashing through the air in surprise. _Takatomon?_ Did she _hear_ the girl right?

_No… I couldn't have,_ she thought. Her hearing was never wrong at this distance, even with a door between her and another person. The girl had actually referred to the digimon as _Takatomon._

Her ear twitched as she heard a noise emanating from the other side of the house. Someone was here. A family member, it seemed.

Deciding to avoid discovery was the wisest course of action, Renamon vanished from view, returning to Guilmon, who's eyes lit up immediately upon seeing her.

"Renamon!" he exclaimed happily. "So what did you…?"

"Not now," she said, placing a paw atop his snout to quiet him. Her form shifting, she returned to her Rika disguise. Placing a hand on his claw, holding it like Rika would with Takato, she led him toward the alleyway's exit. "Come. I think for now, we should get you home. I'm sure Takato's family must be wondering where you are."

"Hah? But what about the digimon and the Tamer?"

"We will discuss them…later," Renamon replied, doing her best to ignore his curious, golden eyes. "We will need to inform the others before continuing any further and I need time to think. And time to gather more information now that I know where she is."

"Hmmm…" The tip of Guilmon's tail twitched, clearly a bit depressed at being deprived of information, but he nodded in understanding. Renamon didn't want Takato's family to worry, so it was best not to do so.

"When you're right, you're right," he smiled, pressing his side against her in a hug. Smiling uncertainly, Renamon stroked a hand along the side of his face, but she couldn't help but think back on what she heard inside the house behind them.

**Author's Note:**

> So…yeah, I thought this story was finished, but in the last month I got bit by an idea bug and this popped out. Along with other ideas mixing in. Honestly, I'm not sure if I should continue this story given the number of stories I've already put on my plate, but this starting chapter demanded to be written, so here it is with possibly more in the future.
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> -Crazyeight


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